The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) in its latest Global Fusion Industry Report says fusion companies raised a total of $2.64bn in the 12 months to July 2025 – the highest since 2022 and a 178% increase on 2024.
Total funding for the 53 fusion companies featured in the report stands at $9.766bn, a five-fold increase since 2021.
This is the fifth annual Global Fusion Industry Report from the Fusion Industry Association. Responses are based on answers to a survey issued to private fusion companies. We approached the fusion developers that we know about and where contact information was available.
Fifty-two companies responded to the survey this year. One is in stealth mode so not named. A 53rd did not respond to this year’s survey but confirmed inclusion using last year’s data.
The 54-page report provides a comprehensive view of the growth of the fusion sector and progress towards commercial fusion. The 53 fusion companies that responded is up from 23 in 2021, with eight new entrants since 2024.
The total includes several major funding rounds including the $900m Series A for US-based Pacific Fusion, which emerged from stealth in November 2024. Other significant rounds included a $425m Series F for US-based Helion in January 2025, and €113m ($132m) Series B for Germany-based Marvel Fusion.
However, 83% of respondents still consider investment a major challenge. Asked how much more investment each company would need to bring their first pilot plants online, responses ranged from $3m to $12.5bn, with a median response of $700m.
While this is eight times more than has been committed to the industry to date, the report emphasizes that this should not be taken as the total investment needed, as there will inevitably be some consolidation, with a smaller number of market leaders emerging.
Nevertheless, fusion companies remain confident in their timelines for delivering fusion-generated electricity to the grid, with 84% targeting the end of the 2030s and 53% 2035.
Backing is coming from a wide range of investors, including deep tech venture capital firms such as DCVC and Breakthrough Energy Ventures; industrial giants such as Chevron, Siemens Energy, and Nucor; sovereign and quasi-public funds including In-Q-Tel, the European Innovation Council Fund, and Plynth Energy; and strategic players from the energy sector like Shell Ventures and Energy Impact Partners.
Public funding invested in fusion companies also increased by 84% from 2024, up by almost $360m to nearly $800m in total.
More than half of the fusion energy startups in the report (29) are based in the US, and 13 are in Europe, with the others in countries across Asia and Oceania.
The survey showed fusion companies directly employ 4,607 people and support at least 9,300 supply chain jobs, “though this is likely an undercount as not all companies provided employee data”. Since 2021, the number of people employed directly by fusion companies has more than quadrupled.
“With a half-decade of consistent data, we can now identify clear trends that speak to both the promise and challenges of commercial fusion energy,” said FIA CEO Andrew Holland. “The acceleration of capital, even when the global economy has tightened, is a signal of maturing investor confidence, technological progress, and a rapidly coalescing supply chain. The maturation of the ecosystem, and increased interest from governments via public-private partnerships show fusion is no longer a purely scientific effort; it is a global industrial movement.”
The companies identified a range of near-term challenges that must be overcome by 2030.
The obvious challenge of achieving sufficient fusion power gain tops the list but other technical concerns include fuel cycle sufficiency and developing neutron-resilient materials, along with resolving engineering questions unique to fusion.
Funding remains a major issue, reflecting the long development timelines and capital intensity of the industry. The responses highlight that while fusion’s promise is within reach, sustained progress will require a continuation of technological breakthroughs and financial, regulatory, and policy support.
The report concludes: “After writing five of these reports, the trajectory is clear. Fusion is no longer a dream that is perennially deferred to ‘20 years from now’. It is a technology being built today, with tangible progress year over year. The next few years will determine not just which companies succeed, but how this generation delivers on a promise made decades ago when the potential of fusion was discovered: to power the world with secure, limitless, clean energy.”
Read also: UK pledges record funding for fusion
