IAEA publishes 2026 World Fusion Outlook

The fourth edition of the International Atomic Energy Agency's World Fusion Outlook is now available. The 128-page report is described by the IAEA as an examination of industry developments, including the advancement of fusion power plant concepts into industrial programs, the evolution of experimental fusion machines into integrated facilities, the emergence of a global fusion supply chain, and increased private and governmental investment in fusion energy.

World Fusion Energy Group: The report was released in conjunction with the third meeting of the IAEA's World Fusion Energy Group (WFEG), which was held on November 12 at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

The WFEG seeks to bring together governments, corporations, academia, and other relevant sectors to form a global fusion community by focusing on accelerating the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of fusion energy. The group states on its website that it hopes "to expedite the transition of fusion energy from development stages to commercial viability, ensuring that fusion becomes a bedrock of the world's clean energy future."

This year's WFEG meeting featured high-level technical sessions on such topics as advancements and trends in fusion enabling technologies, evolving models of international collaboration and public-private partnerships, different financing approaches in all aspects of fusion development, and diverse perspectives on fusion programs presented by panelists from several countries.

A look inside the Outlook: World Fusion Outlook includes the findings of a study by EUROfusion-the organization that coordinates fusion research for the European Commission-that explores different fusion deployment scenarios, focusing on various factors that influence fusion deployment and scale-up, such as technology availability, capital costs, deployment rates, and integration of renewable energy. The study concludes that by 2100, depending on these factors, fusion energy could supply anywhere from just a very small percentage of global electricity generation or as much as 20 percent.

Also in the report is an article contributed by the London-based FusionX Group describes the raising of about $22 billion in committed capital by the fusion private sector-with more than 90 percent of that amount raised within the past five years. However, for fusion energy to reach the commercialization stage, FusionX Group says, an additional $80 billion in private capital is estimated to be required over the next 20 years. The article suggests that the required financing could best be achieved through industrial consolidation, as well as new sources and forms of investment.

Six overall trends are examined in the report as shapers of fusion's future:

• Increasing investment.
• Increasing industrial activity and improving manufacturing capacity and supply chains.
• The progression of fusion blueprints to actual power plants.
• Research progress by experimental facilities around the world.
• The adaptation and development of regulatory frameworks for fusion facilities.
• The growth in the number of fusion facilities (operating, under construction, or planned).

These trends are examined by highlighting certain statistics. For example, the trend of increasing investment is highlighted by the record $4.5 billion in new fusion funding that was recorded between July 2025 and July 2026, while the trend of increasing industrial activity and improving manufacturing capacity and supply chains is highlighted by the spending of more than $530 million by private fusion firms on suppliers in 2025.

The present and the future: According to the report, "Dozens of fusion plant concepts are currently at various stages of development in Canada, China, the European Union (EU), France, Germany, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, Sweden, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA), with target completion dates ranging from the 2030s to the 2050s. These concepts are being developed by individual governments, private companies, and public-private partnerships."

The report goes on to describe 26 fusion power plants that are currently in planning stages, including seven private projects and one public project slated for electricity generation by the early 2030s; eight private projects and one public project scheduled for electricity generation by the late 2030s; one private project and one public project by the 2040s; one public project by the 2050s; and four private projects and two public projects with no operation dates yet specified.

It also details the growth in the number of operating, under-construction, or planned fusion facilities around the world, from 134 in 2022 to 174 in 2026. "Publicly funded facilities remain the majority in 2026, although the number of private facilities has tripled since 2021. Of the 111 public facilities worldwide, 85 are operating (77%), compared with 13 of the 63 private facilities (21%)," according to the report.