CLAIM TRACKER

Promises, milestones and what the evidence says now.

A durable ledger of major fusion claims. Statuses distinguish demonstrated results, company projections, policy objectives and strategic ambitions.

Verified at target boundary

NIF ignition

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · Demonstrated; latest cited shot April 2025

Evidence: 8.6 MJ of fusion output from 2.08 MJ delivered to the target; target gain 4.13.
Boundary: Does not include facility electricity or demonstrate a power plant.
Next threshold: Efficient drivers, low-cost targets, repetition rate, chamber lifetime and plant integration.

Policy objective

U.S. Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap · Finalized June 2026

Evidence: The roadmap aligns public infrastructure and private innovation toward commercial fusion power to the grid in the mid-2030s.
Boundary: DOE states that implementation depends on future public-private partnerships and congressional appropriations. This is not a licensed plant schedule.
Next threshold: Funded, sited and licensed integrated designs with qualified materials, fuel cycles and supply chains.

Ambition, not forecast

Stanford–SLAC workshop call for scale · September 2025 report

Evidence: A scale objective intended to match the strategic urgency of abundant energy.
Boundary: Not a bottom-up deployment forecast.
Next threshold: Pilot success, fleet manufacturing, project finance, workforce and regulatory throughput.

Reported aggregate

DOE 2026 roadmap baseline · Roadmap publication

Evidence: Signals private-market momentum and architectural diversity.
Boundary: Capital raised is not technical validation or commercial readiness.
Next threshold: Translate financing into measured milestones and durable industrial capability.