In this episode, Matthew Lipka from TAE’s Policy & Global Affairs team explores how policy is shaping and accelerating the future of fusion energy in the United States. He shares his work educating policymakers on the trade-offs between different energy technologies—and why government leadership is essential to advancing next-generation solutions. Compared to fission, fusion is a cleaner, safer energy source and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun adapting its regulatory framework to reflect that lower risk. With rare bipartisan support, fusion is emerging not only as a climate solution, but as a pathway to energy security, economic growth and global leadership.

Full transcript: https://tae.com/the-role-of-government-policy-in-advancing-fusion-with-tae-policy-global-affairs-matthew-lipka/

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In this episode, Kyoto Fusioneering co-founder Dr. Richard Pearson shares how his company is supplying the essential technology components others need to succeed. Rather than building reactors, Kyoto focuses on the “picks and shovels” of fusion, including systems such as:

• Gyrotrons: High-frequency microwave devices to heat plasma in magnetic fusion reactors.
• Fuel Cycle Systems: Enabling closed-loop fuel recycling, especially critical for companies pursuing deuterium-tritium fusion, which requires rare tritium.
• Liquid Breeding Blankets: Systems that use lithium to breed tritium and absorb neutron energy.

Regardless of the fusion method, every reactor needs a robust system to contain, fuel and extract energy from plasma. As fusion inches closer to commercialization, Kyoto Fusioneering is addressing these universal engineering needs by positioning itself not as a competitor in the race to build reactors, but as the key supplier helping everyone win that race.

Full transcript: https://tae.com/unlocking-the-fusion-industry-supply-chain-with-kyoto-fusioneerings-richard-pearson/

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In this episode, TAE Director of Computational Science Sean Dettrick explores the groundbreaking role of simulation in advancing commercial fusion. Since joining TAE in 2002, Dettrick has led efforts to build a "digital twin" of fusion reactors—high-fidelity simulations that mirror the physical machines under development, allowing researchers to predict and optimize reactor behavior without physically constructing every variation.

These simulations are not just digital prototypes—they’re essential tools for understanding the intricate physics of plasma behavior, validating experimental data, and informing future designs.

TAE’s sixth-generation fusion machine, Copernicus, is still in development but Dettrick and his team have already seen it "operate" in the virtual world. Through simulations, they analyze how plasma reacts under various conditions, tweak system parameters, and test designs far faster and more flexibly than physical experiments allow.

As computational power has grown from teraflops to petaflops and now to the exascale frontier, so too has the capacity to simulate the six-dimensional complexity of plasma physics. Dettrick emphasizes that reaching commercial fusion will require continued advances in both computing and collaboration between theoretical and experimental scientists.

Looking ahead, Dettrick believes simulations will be crucial not only in building the first fusion power plants but in optimizing them for mass production—ensuring they’re not just functional, but also manufacturable.

Covered in this episode:

• TAE has created high-fidelity digital twins of its fusion reactors.

• These simulations allow testing and optimization without building physical prototypes.

• Models are calibrated with real-world data to predict future reactor behavior.

• Digital models can test design changes that would be physically impossible or too costly to implement in real experiments and provide quick feedback on potential improvements.

• TAE’s sixth-generation machine is already running in virtual form.

• There's a healthy tension between simulation and physical testing—each validates and informs the other. Real-world results continue to refine and improve digital models.

Full transcript: https://tae.com/how-digital-simulations-lead-to-real-world-fusion/

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