Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Supported by Realta, UKIFS
The first commercial-scale fusion plants to be built with new technologies , will demand billions in upfront investment, long timelines and tolerance for early setbacks. Few private investors will carry that risk alone, and governments cannot fund the industry indefinitely. Can public-private partnerships share costs, accelerate innovation and clear a path to bankability? What can fusion learn from aerospace, semiconductors and renewables? And what will convince industry that fusion is a viable commercial opportunity?
Moderator: Alok Jha, science editor, The Economist
Kieran Furlong, chief executive, Realta Fusion
Paul Methven, chief executive, UK Fusion Energy Ltd
Tom Reynolds, head of communications, European Fusion Association
Inmaculada C. Figueroa Rojas, vice director general for international consortia, organisations and research infrastructures, Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spain
Steve Lockett, deputy director, economic development and prosperity, County of San Diego
Supported by Realta, UKIFS
The first commercial-scale fusion plants to be built with new technologies , will demand billions in upfront investment, long timelines and tolerance for early setbacks. Few private investors will carry that risk alone, and governments cannot fund the industry indefinitely. Can public-private partnerships share costs, accelerate innovation and clear a path to bankability? What can fusion learn from aerospace, semiconductors and renewables? And what will convince industry that fusion is a viable commercial opportunity?
Moderator: Alok Jha, science editor, The Economist
Kieran Furlong, chief executive, Realta Fusion
Paul Methven, chief executive, UK Fusion Energy Ltd
Tom Reynolds, head of communications, European Fusion Association
Inmaculada C. Figueroa Rojas, vice director general for international consortia, organisations and research infrastructures, Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spain
Steve Lockett, deputy director, economic development and prosperity, County of San Diego
