Oak Ridge and the Plasma Flamethrower

Measuring Progress: The Story Behind Fusion’s March to Breakeven

In this episode, Sam Wurzel discusses his career journey from plasma physics to co-founding the electronic component search engine Octopart, and his eventual return to the fusion industry to develop better methods for measuring scientific progress. Wurzel details the approach to a peer-reviewed paper that analyzes decades of fusion experiments against the Lawson criteria, utilizing the "triple product" - ion temperature, density, and energy confinement time - as a unified metric for tracking incremental progress toward net energy gain.  The discussion highlights how this transparency has helped investors allocate capital more effectively, inspired students to join the field, and encouraged fusion companies to share more scientific data. Looking forward, Wurzel introduces Fusion Energy Base, a comprehensive digital clearinghouse designed to accelerate the ecosystem through a company database, jobs board, and interactive simulators. https://www.fusionenergybase.com Links to papers:  https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083990 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0297357 About the guest Sam Wurzel is the founder of Fusion Energy Base, a website dedicated to providing comprehensive information on organizations advancing fusion energy and its supply chain. From 2021 to 2024, Sam served as a Technology-to-Market Advisor at ARPA-E and co-lead of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fusion Crosscut Team, where he facilitated the commercialization of ARPA-E-funded projects and contributed to the development of the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. Prior to this, he co-founded and served as CEO of Octopart, a search engine for electronic components. Sam studied experimental plasma physics in graduate school at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The U.S. Fusion Evolution from Science to Commercialization

Fusion energy is moving from science to commercialization faster than ever. In this episode of Fusion Forward, Alex speaks with Scott Hsu, fusion scientist, former U.S. DOE Lead Fusion Coordinator, and now investor at Lowercarbon Capital, about the key milestones that shaped fusion’s progress, from early plasma physics breakthroughs to the rise of private fusion companies and modern policy programs like the DOE Milestone Program. Scott shares what it takes to shift national strategy, why public-private partnerships matter, and what he expects to see in the next five years as fusion races toward Q>1 and pilot plants in the 2030s. About the guest Scott Hsu is a fusion scientist, former Fusion Lead at U.S. Department of Energy, and current venture capital investor focused on fusion commercialization. Scott is now at Lowercarbon Capital, where he works with the firm’s dedicated fusion fund, Q>1, investing in leading fusion companies. He previously served at ARPA-E where he funded nearly 50 R&D projects to accelerate fusion energy, and later became DOE’s Lead Fusion Coordinator, helping shape national strategy around industry-led fusion pilot plants and public-private partnerships.

From Hype to Hard Numbers: On the Business of Fusion feat. FusionX

Investors are pouring money into fusion at record speed, but which technologies, and which companies, will still be standing when the first commercial plant switches on? In this episode, finance industry specialist Stuart Allen breaks down the economics behind the plasma: how valuations are set, where supply-chain bottlenecks hide, and why the entire fusion ecosystem is poised for rapid growth. About the guest Stuart Allen is the co-founder and CEO of FusionX Group, which seeks to facilitate the efficient allocation of capital to fusion and the fusion supply chain. Through their news and data platform, FusionX informs the full spectrum of fusion market participants – fusion companies, supply chain, investors, advisers, and public-sector allies. With their series of FusionXInvest meetings, they connect fusion innovators, investors and partners with opportunity in fusion energy, propulsion, and spin-off applications including medical isotopes, remote imaging, and applied superconductivity.

Advanced Fuels, Compact Reactors & Fusion 2.0

“People call it the holy grail, but I think humanity will be working on fusion for the rest of humanity.” Recording at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, fusion scientist Ahmed Diallo lays out the roadmap he calls “Fusion 2.0.” Ahmed explains why advanced fuels, high-field magnets, and clever energy-recovery schemes are reshaping what a commercial plant could look like. About the guest Ahmed Diallo is a plasma physicist at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Fusion Program Director at ARPA-E. His current research spans fuel-cycle engineering, high-heat-flux materials, and advanced-fuel concepts. He also serves as an advisor to start-ups working to bridge the gap between lab demos and commercial fusion plants.

Unlocking the Fuel of the Future: on Tritium & the Fusion Fuel Cycle

Tritium may not be all that scarce (Canada’s CANDU reactors alone have produced kilograms of it over the years), but keeping a steady, reactor-grade supply is still a major engineering challenge. In this conversation, Ian Castillo, Co-CEO of Fusion Fuel Cycles [https://ffc.inc/], details how the upcoming UNITY-2 testbed will demonstrate the world’s first integrated, commercially relevant fusion fuel cycle. Along the way, he explains why “tritium is the fuel” for today’s machines, how “the breeder really acts as a tritium multiplier,” and what it will take to close the fuel cycle gap between prototypes and commercial fusion power. About the guest Ian Castillo leads tritium systems at Fusion Fuel Cycles, where his team is building UNITY-2 to demonstrate the viability of a truly closed tritium loop. He began his career at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, gaining foundational experience in nuclear technology.