Title page

Contents

Highlights 2

Letter 5

Background 9

Fusion Energy and Technologies 9

History of Fusion Funding and Research in the U.S. 10

DOE Has Made Initial Investments in Fusion Energy Commercialization Initiatives and Proposed More 16

DOE's Initial Investments in Commercialization Initiatives 16

DOE's Proposed Additional Commercialization Initiatives 24

DOE Has Not Completed Plans to Guide Future Investments in Fusion Energy Commercialization 25

Conclusions 29

Recommendation for Executive Action 30

Agency Comments 30

Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Energy 31

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 34

Figure 1. View of ITER Site, as of June 2024 12

Figure 2. A Fusion Device, the National Spherical Torus eXperiment-Upgrade, at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 13

Figure 3. Fusion Energy Funding, Fiscal Years 2012-2022 15

Figure 4. FES Funding Obligations for Fusion Energy Research, Development, and Initiatives to Directly Facilitate Commercialization, Fiscal Years 2020-2023 20