In the bizarro relay marathon that is the fusion race, the baton is firmly in the hands of the startups. The outcome, to be sure, is still uncertain, but the question isn’t whether humanity will achieve commercial fusion, but which companies will, with which approaches, when?Fusion, many believe, will be one of humanity’s greatest triumphs: we will be able to generate energy in the same way that stars do, right on earth. And in this episode, Packy and Julia talk to some of the people who are most likely to make it happen.They'll answer the question of “Why now?” for fusion, and for startups in particular, dive into their business models and the economics of a fusion plant, and discuss what a rollout of fusion across the globe might look like.

Thank you to this episode’s guests: David Kirtley, Sehila Gonzalez, Clay Dumas, JC Btaiche, Francesco Sciortino, Clea Kolster, Ryan Umstattd, Derek Sutherland, and Ian Hogarth.

Huge thank you to our sponsors:Secureframe: the only compliance automation platform with AI capabilities that help customers speed up cloud remediation and security questionnaires. Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: accounting, CFO, and tax services that are designed with flexibility and scalability in mind. To get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyTegus: combine fragmented workflows under one roof and compete on your ability to analyze companies — not on how well you aggregate data. Learn more and start your free trial at tegus.com/miraclesClean Air Task Force: CATF is one of the few NGO's in the world paving the way toward the global demonstration and establishment of a fusion energy industry this decade. They are undertaking and commissioning fusion energy market studies, technology readiness assessments, and regulatory analysis, emphasizing areas for international collaboration. As an objective and independent resource for stakeholders in the fusion sector, CATF is working to raise awareness and accelerate the potential for fusion energy. Learn more and support their efforts at: https://www.catf.us/fusion-energy/Range Fund Holdings

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Timestamps:(00:00) The fusion race(04:54) Why now? What changed?(10:28) Commonwealth(13:21) Fuse Energy(23:35) Proxima Fusion(31:10) Zap Energy(39:09) Helion Energy(52:30) The unit economics of a fusion plant(1:01:24) Fusion commercial rollout(1:05:03) Recap

This show is produced and distributed by Turpentine, a network of shows and other media properties, where experts talk to experts about tech, business, culture, and more. Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Video editor: Nancy Xu. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.