Fusion experts, industry leaders, investors, and policymakers from more than a dozen states and several countries will gather on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus May 5 for the Great Lakes Fusion Energy Summit.
With the first grid-scale fusion power plants expected to be operational in the early 2030s, the summit offers participants an opportunity to shape the region’s growing fusion energy hub and build on its strengths in this industry, which is estimated to reach as much as $550 billion annually by the 2050s.
“Fusion energy presents a golden opportunity for Wisconsin and surrounding states to gain an early lead and shape a high-potential industry,” said Kathleen Gallagher, executive director of 5 Lakes Institute, which leads the Wisconsin Fusion Energy Coalition and the Great Lakes Fusion Energy Alliance. “We cannot let this once-in-a-century opportunity slip through our fingers.”
As part of the state’s focus on fusion research, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation awarded a $778,000 Ignite Wisconsin grant to the Wisconsin Fusion Energy Coalition, led by 5 Lakes Institute and anchored by UW–Madison’s fusion research strength and commercialization capacity, to help establish Wisconsin as a national hub for fusion energy commercialization.
“Fusion energy is an emerging global industry where Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region is uniquely positioned to lead,” said John Miller, secretary and CEO of WEDC. “This summit is an exciting opportunity to share with others the work we’re doing here in Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin has emerged as a regional and national hub for fusion research and collaboration, driven by decades of leadership at UW–Madison and a growing ecosystem of industry partnerships and startup companies.
Over the past 60 years, the university has trained many of the nation’s top fusion scientists and engineers and spun out four U.S. fusion companies, Realta Fusion, SHINE Technologies, Type One Energy, and Xantho Technologies. All of this, including facilities that have already achieved first plasma, is building momentum from lab to market.
Summit attendees will hear from leading fusion experts and researchers during breakouts and keynote speeches, receive in-person and virtual tours of fusion labs and experiments at UW–Madison and the University of Illinois, and learn more about the future of fusion and the fusion supply chain. More than 90 companies, many of which are already operating in or supplying the fusion industry, will be at the summit.
The event is organized by 5 Lakes Institute in partnership with the UW–Madison College of Engineering and the broader fusion energy community. More information, including the agenda and registration details, is available at bit.ly/4vJCcUe.
