On November 20th, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced changes to its organizational structure, including the addition of a new Office of Fusion (OF). The historical context for this shift goes back to the 1990s.
Before 1996, U.S. fusion research was funded through DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy, which operated as a “goal-oriented, fusion development program”. This description comes from a remarkable 1996 report titled “Strategic Plan for the Restructured U.S. Fusion Energy Sciences Program.” The report explains the consequences of a 32% funding cut to fusion energy research between FY1995 and FY1996. This sharp reduction was spurred by political pressures (Congress’s push for balanced budgets as part of its “Contract with America”) and technological realities of the time (the realization that the tokamak path to fusion energy with 90’s era technology would be too expensive).
Specifically, the Office of Fusion Energy was reorganized into the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, reflecting the “change in focus from an energy technology development program to a fusion energy sciences program.” Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) has long resided within the Office of Science (SC) on the DOE organization chart.
The 1996 plan includes a prophetic paragraph (bolding mine):
“This combination of fusion and plasma science, innovation, and the search for more attractive approaches, along with international collaboration on fusion energy science, will allow the United States to maintain the fusion infrastructure and many of the competencies that will provide the platform from which to launch a fusion energy development program at some future date. That time will come when the development path is judged to be affordable and the end product attractive enough to justify the cost.”
Although details about the role of the new Office of Fusion, the future role of Fusion Energy Sciences within the Office of Science, and associated budgets remain limited as of this writing, establishing a Fusion Office outside the Office of Science marks a significant step toward realizing a shift that was anticipated thirty years ago.
Below is the updated DOE organizational chart, highlighting the Office of Fusion.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy