Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Supported by Focused Energy
Calls are growing for governments to treat fusion as a strategic priority on par with the Apollo programme—a co-ordinated, large-scale push with clear national stakes. Supporters argue that only such a grand “moonshot” can marshal the capital, talent and political will needed for commercialisation. Critics think such concentration risks stifling innovation and excluding private capital. Should fusion be a centralised mission, or the enterprise of a competitive ecosystem?
Moderator: Geoff Carr, senior editor, science and technology, The Economist
Tristram Denton, UK director, Fusion Industry Association
Dr. Cord-Henrich Lefhalm, managing director, nuclear innovation strategist, RWE
Chris Wendel, chief financial officer and president, Focused Energy
Alexandra Vidyuk, chief executive and general partner, Beyond Earth Ventures
Ross Koningstein, former director emeritus, Google
Supported by Focused Energy
Calls are growing for governments to treat fusion as a strategic priority on par with the Apollo programme—a co-ordinated, large-scale push with clear national stakes. Supporters argue that only such a grand “moonshot” can marshal the capital, talent and political will needed for commercialisation. Critics think such concentration risks stifling innovation and excluding private capital. Should fusion be a centralised mission, or the enterprise of a competitive ecosystem?
Moderator: Geoff Carr, senior editor, science and technology, The Economist
Tristram Denton, UK director, Fusion Industry Association
Dr. Cord-Henrich Lefhalm, managing director, nuclear innovation strategist, RWE
Chris Wendel, chief financial officer and president, Focused Energy
Alexandra Vidyuk, chief executive and general partner, Beyond Earth Ventures
Ross Koningstein, former director emeritus, Google
