Fusion Innovation Forum

Join public and private industry leaders for a discussion on fusion innovation. This virtual event is hosted by the Fusion Industry Association, located in Washington DC, and the East Tennessee Economic Council, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The online Zoom event will feature:

• Keynote presentation by General Fusion’s Chief Business Development Officer Jay Brister
• Panel discussions on:
  • Enabling Fusion Innovation in the Private Industry Sector
  • Research and Development Technologies, Opportunities, and Partnerships in Fusion
  • Fusion from the Utility’s Perspective to Include Regulatory and Public Policy Issues
• Comments from U.S. Representatives who are a part of the Congressional Fusion Caucus

The speaker list includes representatives from:

• The US ITER Project
• K&L Gates
• General Fusion
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Tennessee Valley Authority
• U.S. House of Representatives
• and more (see below).

Sponsored by: US ITER, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee Department of Nuclear Engineering.

11:00 am – Sign-on / Networking in breakout rooms 

11:15 am – Welcome: Eric Abelquist, Deputy Director of Technical Services, UCOR

Opening Remarks: Kathy McCarthy, Associate Laboratory Director for Fusion and Fission Energy and Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

11:25 am – Keynote Address: Jay Brister, Chief Business Development Officer, General Fusion

Break / Networking in Breakout Rooms

12:00 pm – Comments from the Congressional Fusion Caucus: U.S. Representative Don Beyer, D-VA, & U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, R-TN

12:10 pm – Panel #1: Research and Development Technologies, Opportunities, and Partnerships in Fusion
This panel discussion will feature the research and development occurring at ORNL and at The ITER Project, the vision of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and opportunities.
Moderator: Lou Qualls, Reactor Technology Integration Leader, ORNL
Panelist: Kathy McCarthy, US ITER Project Director and Associate Laboratory Director for Fusion and Fission Energy and Science, ORNL
Panelist: Mickey Wade, Division Director, Fusion Energy, ORNL
Panelist: Dennis Youchison, Director, Department of Energy’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program, ORNL
Panelist: Livia Casali, Assistant Professor and Zinkle Fellow, University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Core-Edge Integration Area Leader for the DIII-D tokamak, General Atomics
Q & A

Break / Networking in Breakout Rooms

1:20 pm – Panel #2: Enabling Fusion Innovation in the Private Industry
Panelists will speak about their specific INFUSE grants and discuss the technical aspects of building a fusion core. They will also address the path forward and what is happening in the industry.
Moderator:  Andrew Holland, Chief Executive Officer, Fusion Industry Association
Panelist: Matthew Reinke, Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Panelist: Randall Volberg, Co-Founder & CEO, Type One Energy Group
Panelist: Mark Koepke, Vice President-R&D, Tokamak Energy
Q & A

Break / Networking in Breakout Rooms

2:25 pm – Panel #3: Fusion from the Utility’s Perspective to Include Regulatory and Public Policy Issues
This panel will address the challenges and perspectives in the industry for long-term users. The discussion will include a technology-to-market perspective, and what the utility industry is expecting and needs.
Moderator: Joe Hoagland, Vice President of Enterprise Relations and Innovation, Tennessee Valley Authority
Panelist: Tim Peckinpaugh, Partner, K&L Gates in Washington D.C.
Panelist: Andrew Sowder, Electric Power Research Institute
Panelist: Ryan Umstattd, Fusion Industry Association 
Q & A

Summary

3:30 pm – Adjourn