Fusion News

FYI - Fusion News/Alerts 05 Feb 2026

FYI - Fusion News/Alerts

Vacuum vessel assembly - Extreme vigilance, successful installation

https://www.iter.org/node/20687/extreme-vigilance-successful-installation 

[Latest ITER Newsline: https://www.iter.org/whatsnew/486]

The Cask Transport System, an automated vehicle ready for ITER assembly

https://fusionforenergy.europa.eu/news/cask-transport-system-final-acceptance-tests/ 

How AI is powering the energy transition – from smart grids to fusion

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/how-ai-is-powering-energy-transition-smart-grids-fusion--ecmii-2026-02-02/ 

New way of seeing laser interactions could advance fusion energy

https://news.engin.umich.edu/2026/02/new-way-of-seeing-laser-interactions-could-advance-fusion-energy/ 

Bringing fusion energy to the grid using artificial intelligence

https://www.pppl.gov/news/2026/bringing-fusion-energy-grid-using-artificial-intelligence 

Europe’s fusion industry calls for help to commercialise

https://sciencebusiness.net/news/nuclear-fusion/europes-fusion-industry-calls-help-commercialise 

Godzilla is helping ITER prepare for tokamak assembly

https://www.ans.org/news/article-7732/godzilla-is-helping-iter-prepare-for-tokamak-assembly/ 

TVA, State Regulators and Type One Energy Submit Initial Licensing Application for Tennessee’s First Commercial Fusion Project

https://www.publicpower.org/periodical/article/tva-state-regulators-and-type-one-energy-submit-initial-licensing-application-tennessees-first 

A participatory design builds social acceptance for fusion energy

https://news.engin.umich.edu/2026/01/a-participatory-design-builds-social-acceptance-for-fusion-energy/ 

New grant awarded in collaboration with WMG to develop fusion shielding

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/news/?newsItem=8ac672c59c03dd43019c1ecd779069ae 

US, Japanese partnership for fusion technology development

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/us-japanese-partnership-for-fusion-technology-development 

Imaginary Energies allows users to design futuristic fission and fusion power plants

https://www.ans.org/news/article-7730/imaginary-energies-allows-users-to-design-futuristic-fission-and-fusion-power-plants/ 

Kashmir Startup Brings Global Plasma Science Home

https://kashmirobserver.net/2026/01/30/kashmir-startup-brings-global-plasma-science-home/ 

The U.S. needs a national fusion strategy before our lead in energy slips away

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-02-03/u-s-national-fusion-strategy 

Ultrafast Movie Reveals Unexpected Plasma Behavior

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v19/13 

Making magnetized plasmas in the lab

https://physicstoday.aip.org/features/making-magnetized-plasmas-in-the-lab 

One-of-a-kind 'plasma tunnel' recreates extreme conditions spacecraft face upon reentry

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-kind-plasma-tunnel-recreates-extreme.html 

Machine learning designs mirrors for high-power lasers

https://www.strath.ac.uk/whystrathclyde/news/2026/discoveryindesignmachinelearningdesignsmirrorsforhigh-powerlasers/ 

A clearer look at critical materials, thanks to refrigerator magnets

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-clearer-critical-materials-refrigerator-magnets.html 

DOE announces NEPA exclusion for advanced reactors

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-02-02/article-7727/doe-announces-nepa-exclusion-for-advanced-reactors/ 

Catch a falling star: cosmic dust may reveal how life began, and a Sydney lab is making it from scratch

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/feb/02/cosmic-dust-how-life-on-earth-began-meteorites-sydney-lab 

NextEra eyes nuclear expansion

https://www.neimagazine.com/news/nextera-eyes-nuclear-expansion/ 

The Nuclear Scaling Initiative: What to know

https://www.ans.org/news/article-7728/the-nuclear-scaling-initiative-what-to-know/ 

AI discovers hidden patterns in nuclei

https://www.anl.gov/pse/ai-discovers-hidden-patterns-in-nuclei 

FIT Webinar on “Realising Fusion: Science, Strategy, and Regulation”

https://rsis.edu.sg/event/fit-webinar-by-dr-zhisong-qu-dr-mike-gorley-and-mr-ryan-wagner/ 

Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles of Interest

Neutron Producing Reactions in Implosion and Direct Heating Experiments of Inertial Confinement Fusion

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10894-025-00547-7 

Design of transient plasma photonic structure mirrors for high-power lasers using deep kernel Bayesian optimisation

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-026-02505-x 

[Of Interest]

Five Key IAEA Publications to Watch in 2026

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/five-key-iaea-publications-to-watch-in-2026 

U.K. physics community braces for deep funding cuts

https://www.science.org/content/article/u-k-physics-community-braces-deep-funding-cuts