Wisconsin begins to bet big on fusion energy

By: Jason Fechner

Originally posted in Spectrum News 1.

The State of Wisconsin is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to help develop the infrastructure for fusion energy and technology, as the state’s now named the Wisconsin Fusion Energy Coalition as one of four consortiums to receive $778,000 in the form of an Ignite Wisconsin Grant.

“Fusion energy is an emerging technology and Governor Evers, as he said in his State of the State address, wants Wisconsin to be a global leader,” said John W. Miller, the CEO and secretary of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. “We’re really excited about this Ignite grant to establish a Fusion Energy Coalition, and the goal is to position Wisconsin as a leader in fusion technology.”

While there’s no timeline for when fusion energy might become a reality in Wisconsin, Miller said the state currently has three fusion reactors and this grant funding can go a long way to moving Wisconsin in the right direction in terms of a fusion-powered future.

“It’s not producing electricity today,” Miller said. “The goal is to produce the infrastructure to speed that along so that Wisconsin can be at the forefront of that, so while we might not see energy production today, we want to pursue it because it’s safe and reliable and carbon-free, and it’s really the energy of the future.”

Watch the full interview here.

Featured image caption: UW–Madison Assistant Professor Stephanie Diem (center) explains their work on the Pegasus-III experiment, a fusion science research program based in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, to a legislative group tour including Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin Representative Renuka Mayadev in Mechanical Engineering Physics. Pegasus facilitates the study of a variety of plasma physics phenomena and plays an important part in the worldwide effort to develop the understanding of confined plasmas. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram.