When the European Commission launched its €120 million EU INFUSE programme in May 2026, it wasn’t just opening a funding call—it was signaling a new era of collaboration between public science and private ambition in fusion energy. Named in direct homage to the U.S. Department of Energy’s INFUSE programme, which began in 2019, this Horizon Europe initiative is designed to bridge the gap between Europe’s world-class national laboratories and the growing fleet of private fusion startups across the continent. For researchers at institutions like CEA-IRFM in France and IPP Garching in Germany, and for entrepreneurs racing to build the first commercially viable fusion reactor, this marks a rare alignment of policy, funding, and scientific opportunity.
Fusion energy has long been framed as the ultimate clean power source—emitting no long-lived radioactive waste, relying on abundant fuel, and offering near-limitless energy. Yet for decades, it remained confined to government labs and international megaprojects like ITER. The rise of private fusion companies—over 40 now operating globally—has shifted that dynamic, demanding new models of public-private partnership. The EU INFUSE programme answers that call, explicitly modeling itself on the U.S. DOE’s successful INFUSE framework, which has already funded dozens of collaborative projects since its inception.
The first call for proposals under EU INFUSE closes on September 12, 2026, giving teams just over three months to form consortia and submit joint research plans. Eligible public partners include France’s CEA-IRFM, Italy’s ENEA, Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching (IPP), and Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre—each a powerhouse in plasma physics and fusion engineering. These institutions will now be able to share expertise, facilities, and data with private firms like Commonwealth Fusion Systems Europe, Marvel Fusion, or Proxima Fusion, accelerating the pace of innovation.
The €120 million in funding isn’t just symbolic—it’s a strategic investment in Europe’s energy sovereignty and technological leadership. While the U.S. has surged ahead with initiatives like the DOE’s Milestone Program, which recently disbursed $42 million to eight private developers, the EU INFUSE programme ensures Europe remains a central player in the global fusion race. By lowering barriers between public and private sectors, it fosters the kind of agile, mission-driven research that could finally bring fusion from the lab to the grid.
As fusion moves closer to reality, programmes like INFUSE are no longer just about science—they’re about building the ecosystems that will deliver clean energy at scale. With the first call underway, the next chapter of Europe’s fusion story is being written not in isolation, but in partnership.