Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 20 minutes ago
Supported by Liberty Fusion, OpenStar Technologies, Renaissance Fusion
Fusion development splits between established approaches (tokamaks, stellarators and inertial confinement) and more novel concepts (field-reversed configurations, mirror machines and Z-pinches). Each has trade-offs in cost, confinement, scalability and risk. Can unconventional designs catch up, or will mainstream machines keep their momentum? Should governments and investors spread their bets across multiple technologies, or focus resources on the most mature? And how do we measure market-readiness when no concept has yet put power on the grid?
Moderator: Geoff Carr, senior editor, science and technology, The Economist
Koichi Masuda, founder and chief executive, Liberty Fusion
Ratu Mataira, chief executive, OpenStar Technologies
Sam Guilaumé, chief executive, Renaissance Fusion
Supported by Liberty Fusion, OpenStar Technologies, Renaissance Fusion
Fusion development splits between established approaches (tokamaks, stellarators and inertial confinement) and more novel concepts (field-reversed configurations, mirror machines and Z-pinches). Each has trade-offs in cost, confinement, scalability and risk. Can unconventional designs catch up, or will mainstream machines keep their momentum? Should governments and investors spread their bets across multiple technologies, or focus resources on the most mature? And how do we measure market-readiness when no concept has yet put power on the grid?
Moderator: Geoff Carr, senior editor, science and technology, The Economist
Koichi Masuda, founder and chief executive, Liberty Fusion
Ratu Mataira, chief executive, OpenStar Technologies
Sam Guilaumé, chief executive, Renaissance Fusion
