California Holds First Statewide Summit on Fusion Energy, Cementing State’s Leadership in the Race for Clean Power

Audio By Carbonatix

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 13, 2025--

More than 200 leaders from science, government, industry, and academia gathered today to accelerate California’s growing role as the nation’s top fusion energy hub. The event, called Accelerating California’s Fusion Energy Economy, marks California’s first statewide convening dedicated to advancing research, development, demonstration, and deployment of fusion energy. A fusion energy power plant would harness the same reaction that powers the sun and stars to provide a virtually limitless source of clean, baseload energy.

Hosted by the University of California San Diego, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and General Atomics, with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, the California Energy Commission, and the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, the summit featured high-profile speakers from government and across the fusion landscape working to grow the state’s fusion ecosystem.

The convening follows the recent release of a landmark report by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC), which found that California’s fusion energy sector could generate more than $125 billion in economic impact and support up to 43,000 jobs over the next decade. Building off this recent news, experts and policymakers explored strategies to strengthen the state’s fusion ecosystem, from expanding research infrastructure and workforce training to growing the supply chain and enacting policies that attract investment and accelerate the path to commercialization.

“It was a great honor to hold California’s first statewide fusion energy summit at the University of California San Diego,” said Javer E. Garay, the inaugural director of the UC San Diego Fusion Engineering Institute. “With the public and private sectors pulling in the same direction all across the State, we have huge opportunities to solve the remaining roadblocks and scale up the production of fusion energy here in California and across the country.”

California already leads the United States in fusion research and development. The state is home to two of the world’s most advanced fusion facilities: The DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego, operated by General Atomics for the U.S. Department of Energy, currently, the nation’s only operational tokamak user facility; and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), which became the first in the world to achieve and repeat fusion ignition under the direction of the National Nuclear Security Administration. These ignition experiments – in which a fusion target produces more fusion energy than NIF’s lasers deliver to it – demonstrate the same fundamental physical reaction that could one day be the basis for fusion power plants.

A major aspect of the meeting focused on recent legislation and state incentives intended to drive fusion investments in the state. The summit also featured leaders from across the state’s growing fusion industry, emphasizing the need for regulatory clarity and expedited permitting to foster development of various hotspots in the State to become regional hubs for the fusion industry.

The San Francisco Bay Area hosts leading national laboratories with a track record of pioneering fusion research including LLNL, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories’ California campus, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University. Following the historic fusion ignition breakthrough in 2022, the region has seen a surge in venture capital investment, fueling growth among both emerging fusion energy start-ups and established firms. Earlier this year, LLNL established the Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology as a convening hub for applying the lessons of fusion ignition to advancing collaborations.

“California is where the future of fusion energy will be shaped,” said Tammy Ma, director of Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. “As the home of fusion ignition, LLNL is pushing the forefront in novel science and technology, as well as forging private-public private partnerships to move this ecosystem forward.”

San Diego has also emerged as a model for regional fusion collaboration. The area includes academic institutions such as UC San Diego and San Diego State University, which have pioneered fusion research for decades and provide the academic programs that will prepare the fusion workforce needed to make fusion commercially viable. San Diego is also home to leading fusion firms such as General Atomics, which fabricates the precision targets that enabled fusion ignition at LLNL. GA and UC San Diego are actively engaged in many collaborative projects in fusion science and fusion engineering, including establishing the Fusion Data Science and Digital Engineering Center, which is part of UC San Diego’s Fusion Engineering Institute. Recent initiatives by the City of San Diego and the San Diego Regional EDC are further establishing the region as a global center for fusion research, engineering, and advanced manufacturing.

“San Diego is already laying the groundwork for a powerful fusion ecosystem, and at General Atomics, we’re proud to have helped spark the industry’s growth in this region,” said Anantha Krishnan, senior vice president of the General Atomics Energy Group. “With new investment, strong policy support, and continued collaboration among government, academia, industry, and the national laboratories, we’re positioned to help move fusion towards the next breakthrough. The nation that achieves fusion first will define the energy future of humankind, and San Diego has the talent, infrastructure, and innovation to lead both California and the country in transforming fusion from breakthrough science into a thriving, limitless-energy industry.”

For more information on Accelerating California’s Fusion Energy Economy, please visit https://www.californiafusionconvening.com/; and to learn more about the major developments in fusion research and technology, check out: https://www.ga.com/, https://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/, and https://lift.llnl.gov.

About General Atomics

Since the dawn of the atomic age, General Atomics innovations have advanced the state of the art across the full spectrum of science and technology – from nuclear energy and defense to medicine and high-performance computing. Behind a talented global team of scientists, engineers, and professionals, GA’s unique experience and capabilities continue to deliver safe, sustainable, economical, and innovative solutions to meet growing global demands.

About UC San Diego

Recognized as one of the top 20 research universities worldwide, UC San Diego is a student-centered, research-driven, patient-dedicated and service-oriented public university. With more than 268,000 alumni, UC San Diego drives change far beyond our walls to advance society and propel economic growth. In 2024, UC San Diego launched the Fusion Engineering Institute in order to accelerate the collaborative efforts needed to solve the remaining challenges holding back practical fusion energy at scale.

About Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provides solutions to our nation’s most important national security challenges through innovative science, engineering and technology. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251113501961/en/

CONTACT: Media Contact:

Andrew James

Communications Lead

General Atomics Energy Group

[email protected]

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CANADA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: UNIVERSITY EDUCATION MANUFACTURING WHITE HOUSE/FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STATE/LOCAL PUBLIC POLICY NUCLEAR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PUBLIC POLICY/GOVERNMENT ENERGY ENGINEERING

SOURCE: General Atomics

Copyright Business Wire 2025.

PUB: 11/13/2025 03:48 PM/DISC: 11/13/2025 03:47 PM

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251113501961/en