US tosses $134M pocket change at fusion pipe dream

America's Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $134 million in funding for two programs aimed at securing US leadership in emerging fusion technologies. The move comes amid renewed interest in nuclear power sparked by surging datacenter energy demands.

The DOE funding will be split between the Fusion Innovative Research Engine (FIRE) initiative, which gets $128 million, and the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program, which will receive a much smaller $6.1 million.

There's an old joke that says nuclear fusion power is 30 years away and always will be, which perhaps explains why the DOE is only committing such modest sums, in comparison with the billions being pumped into the semiconductor industry.

FIRE was formed with the goal of developing a fusion innovation ecosystem around centrally managed teams called "Collaboratives." These are charged with bridging the DOE's own basic science research programs and nascent fusion ...