World Fusion Outlook 2026: AI, the US $80 Billion Financing Challenge and Future Deployment Scenarios

Explore the highlights from the IAEA's latest Fusion Outlook.

Financing Fusion: The US $80 Billion Challenge

by FusionX

Private sector fusion has raised US $21.9 billion in committed capital, more than 90% of it in the past five years. Investment has continued to accelerate in 2026, with annual funding projected to reach a record US $7.6 billion if the current pace continues.

Yet we are falling short of what's needed to bring fusion to commercial deployment.

In an article contributed exclusively to this publication, FusionX estimates that a further US $80 billion in private capital could be required over the next 20 years for the industry to reach commercialization. Drawing on data covering 92 private fusion companies and bottom-up investment modelling, the analysis explores how the industry could consolidate, when leading developers could finance their first commercial power plants, and why the transition to commercial power requires not only more capital, but different sources and forms of investment.

Artificial Intelligence and Fusion

by Google DeepMind

Fusion depends on predicting and controlling plasmas of extraordinary complexity. Experiments are running at a relatively small number of leading facilities worldwide and advanced simulations can take weeks or months to complete.

Artificial intelligence is already helping scientists address some of these challenges. In its contribution to this year's World Fusion Outlook, Google DeepMind explores areas where AI can accelerate progress. These include: faster simulations, improved experiments and real-time machine control, more useful experimental data and the development of enabling technologies, including advanced materials.

Yet realizing AI's full potential will depend on overcoming another major challenge: data. The chapter examines why much of the data generated by fusion research remains difficult to access, combine and use for AI applications, and how international efforts such as the IAEA Fusion Data Lake are working to address these barriers. Building the right data foundations could prove as important as advances in AI itself.

Exploring Scenarios for Future Fusion Deployment

by EUROfusion

A EUROfusion study adapted for this year's Outlook examines how different technological and energy-system conditions could shape fusion's future role.

The analysis shows that fusion's long-term contribution to the energy mix will depend more on the pace of deployment and scale-up than on when the first commercial plants begin operating.

Rather than predicting when fusion will arrive, the scenarios explore how the timing of availability, capital costs, deployment rates and the integration of renewable energy could influence its contribution to global electricity systems. Depending on these assumptions, fusion could supply only a few percent or as much as 15-20% of global electricity generation by the end of the century.

EUROfusion argues that making fusion technology available is only one part of the challenge. The ability to build, operate and scale fusion power plants will ultimately determine how meaningful its contribution can become.

Fusion: Six Trends to Watch

Beyond these special contributions, the Outlook highlights six broader trends shaping the global fusion landscape.

1. Investment reaches new heights: Private fusion companies attracted a record US $4.5 billion in new funding in the 12 months leading up to July 2026, while some companies are preparing to enter public markets.
2. An industry takes shape: Private fusion companies spent more than US $530 million with suppliers in 2025, reflecting growing industrial activity alongside emerging gaps in manufacturing capacity and supply chains.
3. From blueprints to sites: The Outlook features 26 planned fusion power plants, with announced targets for electricity generation extending from the early 2030s to the 2050s.
4. Progress in the machines: Experimental facilities worldwide continue to advance plasma performance, technologies and operational capabilities, while ITER is executing ahead of its 2024 baseline schedule.
5. Rules evolving for fusion: Countries are increasingly adapting existing regulatory frameworks or developing fusion-specific provisions to address the characteristics and risks of future fusion facilities.
6. A growing ecosystem: The IAEA Fusion Facility Database now records 174 fusion facilities worldwide, including operating, under-construction and planned devices. The number of privately funded fusion facilities has tripled since 2021.

Download the IAEA World Fusion Outlook 2026 to find out more about the developments, data and analysis behind these trends.

For almost 70 years, the IAEA has supported international cooperation in fusion energy research and development, bringing together the global fusion community to address shared scientific and technological challenges.

First convened in Rome in 2024, the WFEG brings together governments, research institutions, industry, investors, and other stakeholders to strengthen international cooperation and address the challenges associated with fusion energy development and commercialization.

The first IAEA World Fusion Outlook was introduced at the 29th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference in London in 2023, followed by editions launched at the WFEG's meetings in Rome in 2024 and Chengdu in 2025. Since then, the publication has established itself as a leading global reference for authoritative information on the latest developments and emerging trends in fusion energy.

• IAEA World Fusion Energy Group (WFEG)
• Third High-level Meeting of the IAEA World Fusion Energy Group 2026 | 12 November 2026, Vienna, Austria
• IAEA World Fusion Outlook 2025
• IAEA World Fusion Outlook 2024
• IAEA World Fusion Outlook 2023