It was a great pleasure to participate with WSU colleagues Rabindra Nanda and Arezoo Zare in the 4th Annual Seattle Fusion Week, held Oct. 21-23, 2024 in Downtown Seattle and at WSU Everett (Go Cougs!) and Everett Community College. Sponsored by the Clean Tech Alliance and expertly executed by CEO Mel Clark, Lindsay McCormick, and colleagues, the meeting featured over 268 attendees, including an enthusiastic speech by Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday afternoon. Topics discussed by representatives of the Pacific NW’s very active fusion industry, academic, national laboratory, government, non-profit, and other partners included development of the fusion workforce, the fusion industry supply chain, and community engagement in fusion. I presented an overview talk on fusion science and commercialization, and Dr. J.P. Allain, Director of the Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, described plans for public-private partnerships to advance the fusion industry. There were also panels and presentations focused on high school and college students, government policy, and permitting. It was a pleasure to meet with numerous organizations involved in fusion, including PNNL, UW, UCSD, Colorado State University, the University of Nevada/Reno, and fusion companies (Marvel Fusion, Xcimer Energy, Longview Fusion Energy Systems, Blue Laser Fusion, Kyoto Fusioneering, General Atomics, Tokamak Energy, Avalanche Energy, Pacific Fusion, Fuse Energy Technologies, and Zap Energy) from the Pacific NW and beyond. Motivated by very strong recent technical progress in fusion, this event has steadily grown in size, visibility, and influence. The success of this meeting demonstrated the importance of fusion energy in meeting WA State’s ambitious clean energy goals in the coming years. #WSU #cleanenergy #fusionenergy #economicdevelopment #renewableenergy #cleantechalliance #DOE #jayinslee
