There’s a joke in the fusion energy community that “fusion energy is always just 10 years away.” But this time, it does seem like nuclear fusion is at a turning point. In December 2022, scientists at the National Ignition Facility in the US achieved “net energy gain” in fusion for the first time. This refers to producing more energy from a fusion reaction than is put in to start and sustain it. While it sounds almost trivial and expected, it’s actually a huge milestone in the world of nuclear fusion. Put simply, it showed that nuclear fusion energy is possible (but still not practical).
The “still not practical” piece is very important for investors to keep in mind. Key challenges remain, including scaling up to useful power levels and creating materials that can withstand fusion conditions. Still, there’s growing buzz and optimism around fusion’s promise of clean, abundant energy. Private money is pouring in, and several companies are building demonstration plants. That said, most experts agree that commercial fusion energy is still at least 10-15 years away (yes, the irony is not lost on us).
In this report, we highlight the top nuclear fusion energy stocks to watch, curated by their role within the value chain.
How Far Away is Commercial Fusion Energy?
The timeline to commercial fusion energy is highly variable, with several key technological advancements required along the way. That said, we can put rough boundaries on progress based on expert consensus:
Current Stage (2025)
- In May 2024, researchers at France’s WEST reactor achieved a milestone by maintaining a plasma at 50 million degrees Celsius for over six minutes. This is significant because it marks a transition from experimental bursts of fusion reactions to the sustained conditions needed for real energy production.
- Net energy gain was first achieved in a lab setting in December 2022, which was a major breakthrough. It was just the first step, but huge for “rallying the troops.”
Short-Term (2025-2030)
- Demonstration Plants: Several companies are aiming to demonstrate net-positive energy production outside the lab. For example, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) aims to achieve net-positive energy by 2025 with their SPARC project. Helion Energy targets net electricity from fusion with their Polaris machine.
- Prototype Development: Companies like General Fusion are working on building and testing prototype reactors, aiming to have demonstration plants operational by the late 2020s/early 2030s.
Medium-Term (2030-2040)
- Commercial Viability: The 2030s are expected to see the first commercial fusion power plants coming online. This period will be crucial for scaling up the technology and integrating it into existing energy grids.
- Cost Reduction: Efforts during this period will focus on reducing the costs of fusion energy production to make it competitive with other forms of energy.
Long-Term (2040 and Beyond)
- Widespread Adoption: By the 2040s and beyond, fusion energy could become a significant part of the global energy mix, provided technological, economic, and regulatory hurdles are overcome. Fusion power plants could start replacing aging fission reactors and fossil fuel plants, contributing to a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
- Global Impact: The successful commercialization of fusion energy could lead to a transformative impact on global energy supply, providing a nearly limitless and clean energy source.
Then Why Invest in Fusion Energy Companies Now?
Even the most optimistic estimates put commercial fusion energy at least 10-15 years away. So one might wonder, “then why invest in fusion energy companies now?” This question gets to the heart of the risk-reward balance in investing in emerging technologies.
Investors who get in early on transformative technologies can potentially see massive returns if the technology succeeds. And while commercial fusion might be far off, companies may achieve valuable milestones along the way. These milestones could drive powerful market narratives that increase their value or lead to profitable spin-off technologies. After all, the “value” of a company is simply how much the next person is willing to pay for it.
Fusion energy is seen as the holy grail of clean energy. It’s near limitless, works rain or shine, and has no fuel constraints or supply chain limitations. This disruptive potential can lead to exponential growth for successful companies in this space. It’s also why Bloomberg projects that nuclear fusion could become a $40 trillion market.
For extremely patient, forward-looking investors who want to bet on a truly revolutionary technology, this could be the time to get in on the very ground floor. But for most others, it’s likely still too early for comfort. Regardless, investors should only view fusion energy as a speculative and very long-term part of a broader investment strategy.
How to Invest in Nuclear Fusion Energy
So you believe in the future of nuclear fusion energy, and you want a slice of the pie. How do you get in? Currently, there are no publicly traded pure-play nuclear fusion stocks. The major players in the nuclear fusion sector like TAE Technologies, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Helion Energy, and General Fusion are all still private companies.
If you’re an accredited investor, you may have options. Some of these fusion startups have pre-IPO shares available on sites like Hiive, EquityZen, and UpMarket. Of course, buying shares on these secondary markets carries unique risks, so be sure to do extensive research and due diligence before taking action.
If you’re not an accredited investor, you’ll need to get creative. Let’s explore your options:
Pure-Play Fusion Reactor Developers
Pure-play fusion reactor developers are the garage-band stage of nuclear power: small, private teams chasing the first sparks of a commercial “star in a bottle.” They aren’t yet publicly traded, but they set the tempo for nuclear fusion energy stocks by proving what’s technically possible and when. As milestones fall—net-energy shots, power-purchase deals, pilot plants—paths to IPOs or SPACs open up, giving early-watch investors a front-row seat to game-changing potential.
As mentioned earlier, there are currently no publicly traded pure-play nuclear fusion energy stocks. We’ll update this list as private pure-play fusion companies IPO. For now, there are several private companies to keep an eye on:
Helion Energy
HQ: USA; Using high-speed plasma pulses to generate electricity directly—aiming for 2028.
Helion Energy is a fusion startup with an aggressive timeline and a novel reactor design. Based in Everett, Washington, Helion uses a pulsed fusion approach that fires plasma fuel from two ends of a device and collides them at over a million miles per hour. The colliding plasmas fuse into a super-hot blob that expands against magnetic fields, inducing an electric current – which Helion captures directly as electricity. This direct energy conversion (skipping the steam turbine) could be a game-changer, allowing smaller, simpler fusion plants. Helion’s prototype reactors have steadily advanced; their sixth prototype (“Trenta”) reached the 100 million °C threshold in 2021. Now Helion is testing its seventh prototype, Polaris, designed to prove it can produce electricity from fusion.
Backed by notable investors like Sam Altman and SoftBank, Helion actually signed the world’s first fusion power purchase agreement back in 2023: a deal to deliver at least 50 MW of fusion power to Microsoft by 2028. The company secured an additional $425 million in funding in early 2025 (bringing total equity raised to over $1 billion) to accelerate manufacturing and meet its ambitious goal.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
HQ: USA; Building compact fusion reactors with powerful magnets to reach the grid in the 2030s.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is another frontrunner in the race to commercialize fusion energy. Spun out of MIT in 2018, CFS has raised over $2 billion from high-profile investors like Bill Gates and Google. Its approach centers on a compact tokamak reactor (a doughnut-shaped fusion device) using powerful high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to confine blazing-hot plasma. In 2021, CFS’s team proved their magnets work by achieving a record 20-tesla magnetic field, enabling a smaller reactor design.
They are now building SPARC, a demonstration machine aiming to achieve net-energy fusion (more energy out than in) by 2025-26. Success with SPARC would pave the way for ARC, CFS’s first commercial power plant planned for the early 2030s. CFS has already chosen a site in Virginia and signed a landmark deal with Google to sell 200 MW of fusion power from that future plant. This power purchase agreement – the first direct, large-scale corporate offtake with no utility middle-man – underscores confidence in CFS’s roadmap.
TAE Technologies
HQ: USA; Developing a safe, clean fusion method using particle beams and hydrogen-boron fuel.
TAE Technologies is a California-based fusion pioneer with a uniquely alternative reactor design. Founded in 1998 (originally as Tri Alpha Energy), TAE pursues fusion using a field-reversed configuration (FRC) – essentially colliding and containing rings of plasma – and ultimately plans to fuse hydrogen with boron, a fuel that produces no radioactive waste. This approach requires extreme temperatures (over a billion degrees Celsius), but promises no meltdown risk. TAE has built five prototype reactors and recently hit a major milestone: its “Norman” device sustained stable plasma at over 70 million °C.
With the help of machine learning tools developed in partnership with Google, TAE is now constructing Copernicus, a larger reactor on track to demonstrate net energy gain before 2030. The company has attracted over $1.3 billion in investor capital – including big names like Google and Chevron – which validates its progress. In June 2025, TAE raised another $150 million to accelerate work on Copernicus and on Da Vinci, its planned pilot power plant due in the early 2030s.
General Fusion
HQ: Canada; Smashing liquid metal around hot fuel—industrial-style approach to fusion.
Canada’s General Fusion is taking a unique approach to fusion that mixes aspects of both magnetic and inertial methods. In their design, a sphere filled with swirling liquid metal serves as the fusion chamber. Plasma (hot fuel) is injected into the center, and an array of high-speed pistons smashes the liquid metal inward, compressing the plasma to fusion conditions. The idea is that the resulting fusion neutrons heat up the liquid metal, which can then be pumped out to generate steam and electricity. This approach, called magnetized target fusion, aims to make a simpler, more compact power plant – essentially a “mechanical” fusion machine.
General Fusion has been a trailblazer since its founding in 2002 and has attracted around $440 million in funding, including support from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. The company is now building a new demonstration device (dubbed LM26) and had plans to construct a fusion demo plant at the UK’s Culham research campus, targeting operation in the mid-2020s. However, facing a tough funding environment and running low on cash, the company laid off 25% of staff in 2025 to conserve resources.
Tokamak Energy
HQ: UK; Designing smaller, spherical fusion reactors with next-gen magnetic systems.
Tokamak Energy is a UK-based fusion company reimagining the traditional tokamak reactor. The company builds spherical tokamaks – compact, cored-apple-shaped devices rather than the big doughnuts of ITER – combined with next-generation HTS magnets for confinement. This design should achieve high plasma pressure in a smaller volume, potentially lowering cost and complexity. In 2022 Tokamak Energy’s prototype, ST40, achieved a 100 million °C plasma, a critical temperature for fusion reactions. Having proven that milestone, the team is now constructing a more advanced device (codenamed Demo4 or ST80-HTS) to test their powerful magnets in fusion-like conditions. Tokamak Energy has also spun out a business (TE Magnetics) to commercialize its magnet technology, underscoring the value of its innovations beyond fusion.
The company has raised roughly $336 million so far, including a $125 million round in late 2024 that brought in strategic investors like Japan’s Furukawa Electric. Those partnerships strengthen Tokamak’s supply chain (for example, ensuring access to the specialized superconducting tapes its magnets require). Tokamak Energy’s goal is to demonstrate net-energy fusion in the early 2030s, then build a pilot plant by the mid-2030s.
First Light Fusion
HQ: UK; Shooting projectiles into fuel targets to spark fusion—a simpler, faster path.
First Light Fusion is a British startup pursuing an ingenious inertial fusion method that swaps lasers for something much simpler: a projectile. Instead of using enormous laser beams like the U.S. National Ignition Facility, First Light fires a small, high-velocity projectile into a target containing fusion fuel. The impact generates a shockwave that compresses the fuel to trigger fusion – essentially mimicking how a bullet might ignite a mini hydrogen bomb (on a tiny scale). In April 2022, First Light announced it had achieved a fusion reaction in its lab for the first time using this method.
The company argues its approach could be faster and cheaper to develop because it relies on off-the-shelf technology like gas guns and electromagnetic launchers rather than exotic lasers or superconductors. First Light has grown steadily and raised over $100 million from investors including Oxford Science Enterprises and Tencent. In early 2025, news broke that First Light was close to securing another £60 million to fund its next steps, such as designing a pilot power plant.
Critical Enablers & Industry Partners
Critical enablers supply the pipes, magnets, lasers, and vacuum guts every fusion dream needs to breathe. These firms already make money in semiconductors, aerospace, or healthcare, yet their order books swell as labs scale prototypes into power plants. For investors hunting nuclear fusion energy stocks, this segment offers a steadier ride: diversified cash flows today, plus upside when fusion jumps from science project to infrastructure build-out, making these companies the shrewd picks-and-shovels play in the sector.
Thales Group (EPA: HO)
HQ: France; Supplying lasers, sensors, and electronics to labs and reactor projects.
Thales Group is a large French technology company—spanning defense, aerospace, and electroncs—that has emerged as a key enabler in fusion thanks to its expertise in high-power lasers and electronics. In May 2025, Thales announced the launch of “GenF,” a new subsidiary dedicated to developing inertial confinement fusion – the laser-driven approach to fusion that powers experiments like France’s Laser Mégajoule (LMJ). Thales has decades of experience building some of the world’s most powerful lasers; its systems are at the heart of many research labs. Now, through GenF, it’s partnering with French national labs to design a prototype laser fusion reactor by the 2030s. This move not only signifies Thales’s commitment to fusion as a future market but also positions the company to supply the specialized equipment (huge lasers, targeting optics, control systems) that fusion projects will demand.
Beyond lasers, Thales is involved in magnetic fusion: it manufactures high-power radio-frequency tubes and microwave sources used to heat plasma in tokamaks (for instance, Thales provides components for the ITER reactor’s heating systems). For investors, Thales offers a picks-and-shovels play on fusion. The company’s core businesses are strong on their own, and any breakthrough in fusion could translate into substantial new contracts for Thales’s laser and electronics divisions.
Furukawa Electric (TYO: 5801)
HQ: Japan; Makes high-tech wires for the magnets that power fusion machines.
Furukawa Electric is a Japanese manufacturing firm known for wiring and electronics, but it’s now firmly in the fusion arena as a supplier of superconducting materials. Fusion devices like tokamaks require extremely powerful magnets, increasingly made from high-temperature superconductors (HTS) such as rare-earth barium copper oxide (ReBCO). Furukawa recognized this opportunity and in 2022 acquired SuperPower Inc., a leading US maker of HTS wire. In late 2024, Furukawa Electric then took a strategic equity stake in Tokamak Energy. This investment (part of Tokamak’s $125 million funding round) means Furukawa will likely be a key provider of the superconducting tapes used in Tokamak Energy’s devices.
It’s a symbiotic relationship: Furukawa gains a new market for its products, and the fusion company secures a reliable supply of cutting-edge magnet material. For investors, Furukawa Electric offers a way to tap into fusion’s progress indirectly, through the supply chain. As more fusion projects worldwide adopt HTS magnets – from private reactors to international projects – demand for Furukawa’s superconductors would rise. The company’s broad portfolio (optical fibers, automotive systems, etc.) provides stability, while its proactive move into fusion materials and partnerships gives it a foothold in an industry with massive long-term growth potential.
Syntec Optics (NASDAQ: OPTX)
HQ: USA; Builds custom lenses and parts used to control and monitor fusion reactions.
Syntec Optics is a niche manufacturer seeking upside in the fusion energy supply chain. The company specializes in precision optical components – think lenses, mirrors, and sensors for high-tech applications. In May 2025, the company announced it secured its first orders to provide optics for a “commercial fusion energy” project. These could be specialized lenses or diagnostic instruments needed in a fusion reactor (for example, systems to aim lasers, or windows to observe plasma). The key point is that Syntec is diversifying into fusion at an early stage. Management noted this is part of a strategy to target the energy sector as a new market for its products.
Just as Syntec previously expanded from defense into satellite and data-center optics, it’s now positioning itself as an enabler for fusion innovators. For investors, Syntec Optics represents a speculative but intriguing play. The company’s core business in optics generates modest revenue, but if fusion projects ramp up (and each requires a suite of custom optical components), Syntec could ride that wave. Essentially, it’s a bet that one day there will be dozens of fusion reactors – and each will need precision optics that Syntec is ready to supply.
Bruker (NASDAQ: BRKR)
HQ: USA; Sells scientific tools and materials that help run and test fusion experiments.
Bruker Corporation is a scientific instrumentation company that might not be a household name, but it quietly enables the fusion field in multiple ways. Bruker’s main business is making advanced analytical equipment like spectrometers and microscopes, but it also has a division called Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies (BEST). BEST produces superconducting wires and other components essential for high-field magnets, including those in fusion experiments. In late 2022, Bruker announced it had won multi-year contracts totaling about $50 million to deliver key parts for fusion reactors – specifically, inner components for the ITER reactor in France and high-performance superconducting wire for a new tokamak in Asia.
For investors, Bruker offers a stable, diversified business with a fusion kicker. Its core revenues come from selling instruments to pharma companies, academia, etc., so it’s not a pure fusion bet. However, as fusion development accelerates, Bruker stands to sell more of its specialized superconductors and engineering services. Essentially, Bruker already profits from the attempts at fusion by supplying research hardware—and will profit even more if those attempts lead to an industry.
Pfeiffer Vacuum (ETR: PFV)
HQ: Germany; Provides vacuum pumps that keep fusion chambers clean and plasma-ready.
Pfeiffer Vacuum is a German company that has been providing the ultra-high vacuum technology underpinning nuclear fusion research for decades. In a fusion reactor, whether a tokamak or laser chamber, the air must be pumped out to extremely low pressures (far lower than in space) to allow the super-hot plasma to exist. Pfeiffer is a top supplier of the turbopumps, vacuum gauges, and leak detectors that achieve and maintain these conditions. For example, Pfeiffer was contracted to develop special vacuum pumps for the ITER project, engineered to withstand stray fusion fuel and radiation. The company’s products are also used in other fusion experiments like the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Germany and various private ventures.
For investors, Pfeiffer Vacuum is a classic picks-and-shovels player in nuclear fusion. Its vacuum solutions are needed regardless of which fusion concept wins out, as all reactors need a vacuum and all must deal with hydrogen isotopes and massive magnets. Pfeiffer even designs pumps with magnetic shielding to work near fusion magnets. Pfeiffer is already profitable, serving semiconductors and R&D markets, so it’s not a speculative bet on fusion alone. But as fusion projects multiply and scale up, Pfeiffer’s role and revenue in this niche could grow significantly.
Energy Majors with Nuclear Fusion Stakes
Energy majors with fusion stakes are the giants hedging their own disruption. By funneling venture dollars into startups and R&D, these companies buy an option on limitless clean power while their cash gushers still flow. For investors seeking nuclear fusion energy stocks, these blue chip names bolt a moonshot onto a dividend portfolio: the cash yield of oil today and a claim on tomorrow’s star-sourced electricity if their bets pay off.
Chevron (NYSE: CVX)
HQ: USA; Oil major investing in multiple fusion startups through its venture arm.
Chevron is one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, but it’s also dipping its toes into nuclear fusion through strategic venture investments. Chevron’s venture arm has backed at least two fusion startups so far: in 2020 it invested in Zap Energy, a Seattle-based fusion company developing a novel “no-magnet” plasma z-pinch approach, and Chevron later joined the Series G funding round of TAE Technologies in 2022. These investments are relatively small (undisclosed amounts) compared to Chevron’s core fossil fuel business, but they are symbolically and strategically important. Chevron faces growing pressure to prepare for a low-carbon future. By investing in fusion, Chevron gets a seat at the table of a technology that could one day transform the energy landscape.
In public statements, Chevron has expressed optimism about fusion’s scalability and its fit alongside renewables in a decarbonized grid. The timeline for fusion commercialization is still uncertain, so Chevron’s core profits won’t be impacted near-term. However, for investors, Chevron’s fusion forays are a sign of forward-thinking. If fusion does succeed, Chevron could leverage its deep project management expertise and energy market access to help deploy the technology – and ensure it remains an energy leader.
Eni S.p.A. (NYSE: E)
HQ: Italy; One of the first oil companies to back fusion—big early investor in CFS.
Eni SpA, Italy’s national energy company, made headlines in 2018 as one of the first oil majors to make a major investment in fusion. That year Eni invested $50 million for a significant stake in Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the MIT-spinout working on tokamak fusion. Eni’s CEO even took a seat on CFS’s board. This bold move was part of Eni’s broader decarbonization strategy – the company explicitly tied the investment to its goals of reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to new energy sources. Eni has since doubled down: it has funded fusion research in partnership with MIT and reportedly joined subsequent funding rounds for CFS as that company grew.
The payoff Eni seeks is twofold. First, if CFS’s ambitious plan succeeds, Eni could secure access to fusion power or even build fusion plants in markets where it operates. Second, Eni gains early expertise in this disruptive field. For investors, the fusion stake adds a layer of long-term upside. In the near term, Eni remains an oil and gas producer with financial performance tied to petroleum. But its early fusion bet suggests that Eni could evolve into a broader energy provider over time, with fusion as a cornerstone of its 2040s or 2050s portfolio.
Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR)
HQ: Norway; Using oil profits to fund fusion and other clean energy technologies.
Equinor is Norway’s state-controlled energy company, and it too has staked a claim in fusion’s future. Through Equinor Ventures, the company invested in Commonwealth Fusion Systems during a 2020 funding round and then increased its investment significantly in late 2021 as part of CFS’s $1.8 billion Series B. Equinor described that follow-on as its largest venture investment ever. Why such conviction? Equinor has a corporate goal to be net-zero by 2050, and it sees fusion as a potential “game-changer” for clean energy in the long term. By engaging with CFS’s tokamak project, Equinor gains insight into cutting-edge fusion developments and a foot in the door should the technology mature.
Equinor is also heavily investing in renewables (offshore wind, solar), but fusion represents a moonshot with massive payoff: virtually limitless, dispatchable power with no emissions. For investors, the fusion angle is a long-term optionality on top of a solid conventional energy business. If fusion succeeds in the 2030s, Equinor could emerge as a leader in deploying the technology. Yet even if fusion takes longer or falters, Equinor will still have its robust petroleum and renewable assets.