Cleantech Council meets online in October to discuss the viability of nuclear fusion as a future energy source and meet some of the startups and investors betting big that fusion is a cheaper, more efficient, and cleaner way to power the 21st century.
Cleantech Council delegates meet monthly to discover startups and innovation across clean, green, and sustainable technologies and build community with colleagues from like-minded corporations committed to paving the road to a sustainable future through partnership. This month we review innovation in Nuclear Fusion in our Virtual Lounge.
Cleantech Council corporate members can now download the today's full agenda, attendee list, contact information,and the presentations from today's startups from our member's library.
This agenda included 7 startup introductions and pitches followed by a roundtable discussion among experts, investors, startups, and attendees. The startups shared what they are working on across:
Thanks to the community members and segment experts who will contribute to today's discussion.
Our Nuclear Fusion meeting on October 30, 2025, brought together experts and innovators to discuss the viability and commercial acceleration of fusion technology as a future energy source. Nuclear fusion - the process that powers the sun - promises a virtually limitless, clean, and safe energy supply, potentially revolutionizing the global power grid. This transformative potential has captured significant attention and investment, with over $7 billion poured into fusion startups in recent years, signaling strong confidence in its medium-term commercial potential. The Cleantech Council hosted this inspiring meeting in our Remo virtual meeting room, attracting approximately 25 attendees eager to explore the technological frontier and market dynamics of this cutting-edge field.
The day's agenda featured a host of presentations and discussion with key segment experts. The Q&A and interactive roundtable discussion benefited from the expertise of VC Rasheed Auguste (Playground Global) and Ellie Tubman, Assistant Professor (UC Berkeley). The core of the meeting was dedicated to presentations by a number of startups and innovators, covering a wide range of approaches to achieving net energy gain from fusion. These discussions moved beyond theoretical concepts to address the practical challenges and market strategies for commercializing this complex technology.
The innovators & startups addressed topics such as: micro reactor, inertial fusion, linear fusion, molten salt reactors, compact fusion, laser fusion, and quasi-symmetric stellarator. These startups highlight the diversity of technical approaches currently being pursued in the private sector. The sheer variety of concepts underscores the industry’s vibrant, experimental phase, where multiple paths are being explored concurrently to reach the pivotal milestone of commercial fusion power.
A key theme throughout the discussions centered on the optimal initial target markets for fusion startups, given that current-generation fusion devices may not yet meet the massive scale requirements or risk tolerance of traditional grid operators. Grid operators, we learned, are typically slow in their deal-making, highly risk-averse, and only interested in multi-gigawatt power scale, which is not where fusion is at in its current developmental phase. Fusion startups are wisely seeking electricity market segments where grid competitors and conventional fuels are relatively weaker and less entrenched.
This strategic shift has led many startups to focus on mid-capacity, reliable, and green power solutions for markets such as new datacenters, which seek co-located power for control, reliability, and reduced transmission costs. Datacenters represent a rapidly growing, high-value segment with an urgent need for sustainable, always-on energy. Another promising initial market is the Department of Defense (DoD), which is particularly interested in mastering cutting-edge energy technology for energy security and resilience at forward operation bases, or for powering ships. The output scale and potential for mobility of a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) or similar compact fusion design is a strong match for DoD needs. Other segments explored included mobile use cases and distributed energy use cases, all of which prioritize energy resilience and green credentials over ultra-massive scale.
The importance of Nuclear Fusion in the current times cannot be overstated. As a deep-tech solution, fusion represents a critical pathway to achieving true energy independence and meeting aggressive global decarbonization goals. Its potential to provide baseload power that is weather-independent and essentially fuel-limitless is a game-changer for grid stability and security. Beyond providing bulk energy, an interim Minimum Viable Product for fusion startups could be the sale of fissile neutrons and particle outputs, which are valuable for scientific research and development, materials testing, and even medical isotope production. This allows companies to generate revenue and prove out subsystems while still on the path to full-scale kinetic energy production, lowering the risk profile for early-stage investors. The massive R&D push is a testament to the belief that this technology is no longer a distant dream, but an achievable engineering challenge critical for the planet’s long-term sustainability.
All of the presentations will be available to members in the Cleantech Council’s Member Library.
This meeting takes place online in Cleantech Council's Virtual Lounge - a meeting room where attendees can visit presenting companies at their meeting tables, connect with attendees in separate areas, or generally mingle and network with other participants in groups or in private.
Regular participants include tech scouts, innovation strategy, partnership executives and corporate development delegates from: