Opinion at Business News Australia by Dr. Warren McKenzie, founder and Managing Director of laser fusion energy company, HB11 Energy
Recently, I found myself in a room with government representatives from 27 countries, all discussing one thing: how to capture their slice of the emerging fusion energy industry.
I was one of just six private company representatives at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Second Ministerial Meeting of the World Fusion Energy Group. What I witnessed was a coordinated global sprint towards fusion commercialisation amongst countries that are hungry to capture their share in the only clean energy industry that has the potential to replace fossil fuels at large.
The numbers tell the story. The IAEA’s World Fusion Outlook 2025, launched at the meeting, shows more than 160 fusion devices now operational, under construction, or planned worldwide. Private investment has already exceeded US$10 billion (A$15 billion) globally, and that’s just the beginning.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi meant it when he said at the meeting that fusion energy is “rapidly becoming a cornerstone of national energy strategies and industrial planning” and “entering a new phase of real-world implementation.” This isn’t some distant scientific possibility anymore. It’s happening now.
At the IAEA meeting, countries big and small either launched or reported on their national fusion programs. These included ambitious initiatives from economic powerhouses like the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, right through to smaller economies including Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The event ran alongside the 30th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, where our CTO Sergey Pikuz served on the organising committee for the 1000-strong gathering. The conference showcased cutting-edge progress across experiments, theory, engineering, materials, and commercialisation pathways. The momentum is unmistakable.
What struck me most was the consensus around how to build these industries. Milestone-based public-private partnerships (PPPs) emerged as the clear winner, the preferred policy setting for governments seeking to participate in this future global industry. PPPs were also at the centre of the US Fusion Science and Technology Strategy announced the same week.
These PPP programs are simple: Milestones are set for the industry by a global body with expertise in fusion, such as the IAEA or the US Department of Energy. Governments commit resources from past research investments to support private companies and make payments when they reach these milestones.
This approach makes perfect sense. Governments get to leverage their existing investments into research, private sector innovation, speed, and agility while maintaining strategic oversight in line with global missions.
Private companies, such as HB11 Energy, are the glue that holds these stakeholders together. PPP programs allow them to realise a return for their investors on a timeframe of years rather than decades as value is recognised through the meeting of milestones. They can also secure their place in the emerging fusion economy without needing to solve every technological challenge required to build a fusion power plant.
So where does this leave Australia? Right now, we’re observers in a race that other nations are already running hard in.
However, the opportunity is enormous. Australia has a lot to offer to such a global program. Through the legacy of Sir Mark Oliphant building the first fusion devices outside of the Soviet Union at ANU, it remains a powerhouse of fusion expertise globally. We have world-class research infrastructure and knowledge across most of our universities and ANSTO. A new generation of fusion scientists is being trained at UNSW, whose Atomcraft program will see a world-first fusion device built by students.
Our natural resources of lithium, copper, and critical minerals will be sought after globally as supply chains are secured – a key discussion point at the Ministerial meeting. Our $5.4B photonics industry is well poised to support the growth of laser fusion.
The question isn’t whether fusion will become a major global industry – that ship has sailed. The question is whether Australia will be a meaningful participant in shaping that industry or just another customer buying technology developed elsewhere.
The good news is we’re not too late yet. But if we want our fair share of what could be the most transformative energy technology since the discovery of oil, we need to get moving.
The fusion future is coming whether we’re ready or not.
