The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been selected to lead three research collaborations with fusion industry partners as part of the 2025 cohort of the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy program, or INFUSE. The awarded projects will tap ORNL’s deep expertise in fusion materials, plasma diagnostics and advanced modeling and simulation to solve practical challenges and create new technologies to accelerate the development of fusion energy.
Established in 2019, the INFUSE program promotes public-private research partnerships with the fusion industry. The program leverages the unique capabilities and scientific talent at DOE’s national laboratories and U.S. universities to address barriers in advancing fusion energy technology. The partner laboratories or universities are awarded between $100,000 and $500,000 for one- or two-year projects, with at least a 20% cost share required from the private company.
Per the official announcement by DOE , more than $6.1 million in funding has been awarded to 20 projects exploring materials science, laser technology, superconducting magnets, AI learning for fusion modeling and simulation, and enabling technologies to move toward achieving economical fusion energy.
“The INFUSE awards demonstrate the key role that national laboratories like ORNL play in moving fusion energy research forward and strengthening U.S. leadership in fusion energy,” said Troy Carter, director of ORNL’s Fusion Energy Division, or FED. “Partnerships like these allow us to apply our knowledge and the tools at our disposal to directly support the needs of the growing fusion industry.”
“Interest in INFUSE continues to grow in both the public and private sectors, with another record number of applicants this year,” said ORNL’s Arnie Lumsdaine, Private-Public Partnerships lead and INFUSE director. “The growth in funding for the program also indicates the program as a DOE priority. We are looking forward to seeing successful results from this year’s projects.”
The INFUSE program is sponsored by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences within DOE’s Office of Science and is managed by ORNL and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
The other projects from this year’s awards can be found on the INFUSE website .
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science . – Sean Simoneau