Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program | DE FOA 0002809

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002809

The Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program (DE-FOA-0002809) is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science opportunity aimed at speeding up the practical development of fusion energy by partnering directly with private industry. The core idea is that fusion has moved into a moment where recent scientific breakthroughs, major technology gains, and the rapid growth of private fusion companies have made it realistic to push harder toward demonstration-scale systems. DOE frames this as part of a national push to support net-zero emissions goals by 2050 while building a competitive U.S. fusion power industry, consistent with direction from the Energy Act of 2020 and guidance from major expert roadmapping efforts such as the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee long-range plan and the National Academies report on bringing fusion to the grid.

A key feature of this program is its milestone-based structure, which is meant to look and feel more like a development partnership than traditional open-ended research funding. Applicants are expected to propose applied research and development activities that knock down concrete scientific and engineering barriers on the path to a fusion pilot plant (FPP). In other words, the program is not just about advancing plasma physics in the abstract; it is about producing usable results that reduce risk for a pilot plant design and make commercialization timelines more credible. DOE also positions this as part of a broader "bold decadal vision" for commercial fusion, emphasizing that public-private partnerships can compress development schedules by combining public R&D strengths with private sector speed, integration capability, and commercialization focus.

The targeted end state is progress toward a fusion pilot plant that can demonstrate net fusion electricity at meaningful scale and duration, with a believable route to extended operation. The FOA cites a representative performance target drawn from the National Academies framing: on the order of greater than 50 MWe net electric output for more than 3 continuous hours (a stepping-stone demonstration), plus a timely path to achieving one full power year of operation. Just as importantly, the FOA highlights capital cost realism, stating that the pilot plant concept should be on a cost trajectory that could attract private investment, signaling that economics and bankability are part of the technical story this program wants to advance.

Eligibility is limited to U.S. for-profit entities, including both small businesses and for-profit organizations that are not small businesses, reflecting the explicit intent to engage the private fusion industry rather than universities or nonprofits as primary applicants. The funding instrument is listed as "Other" under a discretionary opportunity in the science and technology R&D category (CFDA 81.049), consistent with the nontraditional, milestone-driven partnership emphasis. The opportunity was released by DOE Office of Science, with an original closing date of December 15, 2022, and it anticipated making around four awards. Individual awards could be as large as $25,000,000, indicating an expectation of substantial, development-oriented projects rather than small exploratory studies.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as DOE putting real money behind a commercialization-adjacent fusion push: funding applied technical work that directly supports fusion pilot plant design, structuring support around measurable milestones, and explicitly leaning into a public-private partnership model to accelerate fusion energy research, development, and demonstration in the United States.

• The Department of Energy - Office of Science, Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 22, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 15, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for DE FOA 0002809

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