Fusion technology developer Fuse signed a five-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with prime contractor Mission Support and Test Services at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), expanding its collaboration across the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) enterprise.
A CRADA deal establishes a framework for research on next-generation fusion technologies, tritium capabilities, higher neutron yields in pulsed fusion generators and strengthening the domestic pulsed-power industrial base,the company told Exchange Monitor.
The agreement builds on Fuse’s existing CRADAs with Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, expanding the company’s partnerships across the NNSA complex.
NNSS supports NNSA’s Stockpile Stewardship Program through subcritical experiments, high-energy-density physics research and other activities used to assess the U.S. nuclear stockpile without underground nuclear explosive testing.
Initial projects will focus on validating fusion technologies, advancing tritium capabilities, increasing neutron output from pulsed fusion generators and evaluating dense plasma focus systems.
Daniel Lowe, chief scientist for the Enhanced Capabilities for Subcritical Experiments Mission at NNSS, said the partnership combines Fuse’s commercial pulsed-power hardware with the site’s technical expertise to evaluate emerging technologies and generate insights benefiting both national security missions and the broader fusion community.
Former NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, now a Fuse advisory board member, said the collaboration supports technologies that underpin U.S. strategic deterrence while advancing long-term energy innovation.
Fuse Founder and CEO JC Btaiche said the agreement demonstrates how partnerships between national laboratories and private industry can accelerate development of technologies with applications in both national security and commercial fusion.