As 2025 came to a close, I attended the Canadian Workshop on Fusion Energy Science and Technology (CWFEST). The energy in the room was unmistakable. After decades of steady progress, fusion technology is entering a new phase of acceleration, with clear pathways toward commercial viability. Here are five main takeaways that stood out:
- Industry consensus points to commercial-scale fusion in the 2030s. Achieving this timeline will require billions in additional investment, yet the total cost is still projected to be significantly lower than the 2–3% of GDP mobilized for the Manhattan Project. Two major technical hurdles remain: reaching sustained energy breakeven and solving tritium breeding to ensure a reliable fuel supply for deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion.
- The private sector has become the primary engine of innovation. While private fusion companies have existed since 1985, the last decade has seen an explosion of new entrants pursuing diverse technology approaches, fuel types, and applications. Today, 53 private entities are competing in the global fusion race, including three Canadian companies—Stellarex, General Fusion, and Fusion Fuel Cycles. Their presentations at CWFEST offered compelling updates on technology development and real-world progress.
- Regulatory clarity is now a critical enabler for Canada. Unlike the United States, which regulates fusion devices similarly to particle accelerators, Canada’s Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has signaled that certain aspects of fusion will be treated more like fission—despite fusion’s fundamentally different risk profile. This has significant implications for project economics. Fission reactions are easy to start and difficult to stop, carrying the potential for a runaway chain reaction. Fusion, by contrast, is difficult to start and easy to stop, with public risk limited to the small source term inside the reactor.
- Canada leads globally in tritium research and supply. Tritium—a hydrogen isotope with one proton and two neutrons—is produced as a byproduct in the heavy water used to sustain the nuclear chain reaction in CANDU fission reactors. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) maintains the world’s largest civilian inventory of tritium and has demonstrated safe extraction, concentration, and storage. Because tritium breeding remains arguably the greatest technical barrier to commercial D-T fusion, Canada’s expertise is strategically vital. Breeding typically involves capturing neutrons from the fusion reaction in a lithium-6 blanket to generate new tritium, though important uncertainties persist around blanket design and extraction methods required for a self-sustaining fuel cycle.
- Fusion’s potential extends well beyond electricity generation. While power production will be the primary market, secondary applications are equally promising, including the production of isotopes for nuclear medicine. Canada already plays a leading role in medical isotope research. A recent partnership between McMaster University and UK-based Astral Systems will use Astral’s Multi-State Fusion (MSF) reactor technology as a neutron source to produce Actinium-225 and Lead-212—two scarce but critical isotopes for next-generation cancer therapies.
In summary, fusion is no longer a distant scientific dream. With strong private-sector momentum, proven Canadian advantages in tritium and medical isotopes, and the need for smart policy alignment, Canada is well-positioned to capture meaningful economic and societal value from this transformative technology in the decade ahead. The path forward is clear—and the opportunity is ours to seize.
