The formation of the Fusion Industry Association as the first trade body for private fusion companies — giving the emerging commercial fusion sector a unified voice in policy and public discourse.
The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) was founded in 2018 by a coalition of private fusion companies seeking to create an industry voice distinct from the government-funded national laboratory programme. Andrew Holland became the first CEO. The FIA represented a recognition that fusion was no longer purely a government research endeavour but an emerging commercial industry with shared interests in regulation, funding, and public perception.[1]
The FIA’s annual survey of the global fusion industry has become the definitive reference for tracking private fusion activity. The association played a key role in: advocating for fusion-specific regulation (contributing to the NRC’s 2023 decision); organising the private sector’s participation in the 2022 White House Fusion Summit; and promoting public understanding of fusion energy’s potential.[2]
The FIA helped establish fusion as a credible investment category and created a collaborative framework for companies that are competitors in technology but allies in policy. Its annual survey data is cited by policymakers, investors, and media worldwide.[3]