Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced legislation this week to formally establish the Office of Fusion at the Department of Energy.
House Fusion Energy Caucus co-chairs Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) introduced a companion bill in the House this week as well.
The bill looks to amend the DOE Organization Act to reestablish an office focused on fusion energy. The Office of Fusion will serve the purpose of advancing fusion energy, in partnership with the private sector, to accelerate research, demonstration and deployment of nuclear fusion.
The bill comes a month after DOE released reorganization plans for its agency and included an Office of Fusion. The legislation looks to codify DOE’s plans and “urge DOE to move forward with their plans to ensure that the United States can continue leading the way on fusion energy and eventually reach commercialization,” according to Padilla’s Monday press release.
“By establishing the Office of Fusion within the Department of Energy, this legislation would accelerate the deployment of cutting-edge fusion energy as an abundant and reliable power source to help meet surging demand and bolster grid stability,” Cornyn said in the release.
Fusion energy has seen a recent uptick in investment in the United States as the country races against China to achieve commercial fusion first. In 2022, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, the state Padilla represents, became the first lab to achieve fusion ignition.