Public-private partnerships propel fusion research

By John Greenwald

fusion reactor diagram
Image courtesy of PPPL

The quest to develop a safe, clean and virtually limitless source of energy for the future has brought the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) into partnership with private companies. PPPL has teamed with five technology companies in the United States, Canada and Great Britain to unlock the potential of fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, to meet humanity’s ever-growing electricity needs. The DOE sponsors the partnerships under its nationwide Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program, with Ahmed Diallo, a PPPL physicist, as the program’s deputy director.