About This Event
An overview of different approaches to providing limitless and clean energy from nuclear fusion, with lightning talks delivered by entrepreneurs and world leaders in their field and a panel discussion by investors and policy makers.
This year's focus is around the fusion energy supply chain and near-term commercial applications of fusion based technologies, like high-temperature superconducting magnets, high-flux neutron sources, radiation testing, medical isotope production, and more.
The lineup of speakers:
Caroline Anderson, Head of Public Affairs and Communications at the Fusion Industry Association
Bud Vos, CEO at MetOx, and Andrew Ryan, President at Faraday - two world-leading companies in the mass production of fusion critical high temperature superconducting tape
Ara Knaian, CEO and co-founder at Acceleron developing muon-catalyzed fusion to achieve breakeven at lower temperatures
Robin Langtry, CEO and co-founder of Avalanche Energy which is pursuing electrostatic inertial confinement fusion with their 50kW-class Orbitron
Will Regan, Founder and President at Pacific Fusion pursuing Pulsed Magnetic building on top of work at Sandia National Laboratories
Matt Aubuchon, Director of Pulsed Power at Zap Energy pursuing shear-flow stabilized Z-pinch fusion
Darren Woulfe, Head of Magnet Business at Commonwealth Fusion the world's leading Tokamak startup developing the pioneering SPARC reactor
Liam Corrigan heading up finance at Fuse Energy, which has developed a 1 Terawatt impedance-matched Marx Generator to commercialize Magnetized-Line inertial fusion
With a panel discussion by Malcom Handley, founder of Strong Atomics, Clea Kolster Partner at Lowercarbon and Jordan Kanis of SVB
Kindly sponsored by Lowercarbon and Gigascale Capital, two of the worlds leading climate-focused funds deploying into the frontiers of the fusion industry.
Speakers
Andrew Ryan
President, Far
Andrew Ryan is the President of Faraday 1867 Holdings LLC, the world's largest producer of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tape. Through its subsidiary Faraday Factory Japan, the company has delivered over 7,000km of HTS tape to fusion projects worldwide, supporting tokamaks, stellarators, levitating dipoles, and magnetic mirrors. In 2023, Faraday partnered with Coherent Corp. to scale HTS tape manufacturing for mass deployment of nuclear fusion reactors. The company has been recognized in the Financial Times Awards and Nikkei Top-500 rankings for high-growth companies in Asia-Pacific.
Robin Langtry
CEO, Avalanche Energy
Robin Langtry is a Canadian-German aerospace engineer and fusion energy innovator best known as the co-founder and CEO of Avalanche Energy (also referred to as Avalanche Fusion), a Seattle-based startup developing compact, modular Orbitron electrostatic fusion reactors for applications in mobile power, defense, space propulsion, and distributed energy. Inspired by science fiction like The Expanse, Langtry invented the Orbitron concept in 2020 after years of self-directed research, leveraging his expertise in computational fluid dynamics and turbulence modeling (with over 6,000 citations). Previously, he spent 15+ years in aerospace at Boeing and Blue Origin, leading New Glenn rocket development. Avalanche has achieved milestones like sustaining 300kV in compact devices, raised significant funding including a $40M Series A, and is building the FusionWERX neutron testing facility.
Will Regan
President and Cofounder, Pacific Fusion, Pacific Fusion
Will Regan, Ph.D., is the co-founder and President of Pacific Fusion, a Fremont, California-based startup founded in 2023 to deliver the world's most affordable, on-demand clean energy through pulser-driven inertial fusion—leveraging fast-rising high-current pulses to magnetically compress deuterium-tritium fuel targets, aiming for net facility gain (more fusion energy out than electricity in) by 2030 via a Demonstration System promising 1,000x better price-performance than NIF's laser approach. A UC Berkeley alumnus who previously catalyzed the private fusion boom as co-developer of ARPA-E's ALPHA program supporting low-cost plasma heating, Regan later led moonshot energy and climate projects at Google X—including founding Alphabet's Mineral agricultural tech division—before assembling Pacific Fusion's elite team of national lab veterans to rapidly prototype scalable systems amid a $900M+ milestone-based Series A from General Catalyst and others. A congressional witness on fusion's promise for U.S. energy leadership, prolific communicator on podcasts and technical papers, and advocate for pragmatic paths to gigawatt-scale power, Regan is driving an ambitious roadmap toward pilot plants in the 2030s to meet exploding demand from AI, electrification, and global prosperity.
Matt Aubuchon
Director of Pulsed Power Component Development, Zap Energy
Matt Aubuchon is the Director of Pulsed Power Component Development at Zap Energy, where he leads the team developing Zap's pulsed power components for their sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion reactor. Previously, he worked at EPC Power Corp, helping grow the company from a 35-person San Diego startup to a 200+ person international manufacturing company with locations in Greenville SC, Raleigh NC, and Helsinki Finland. Matt is based in San Diego and joined Zap Energy in 2023.
Darren Woulfe
Head of Magnet Business, Intel
Darren Woulfe is an American energy sector executive and engineer best known as the Head of Magnet Business at Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a leading MIT spinout developing commercial fusion energy through revolutionary high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets. Joining CFS in 2021, he oversees the critical magnet program essential for compact tokamaks like SPARC and ARC. Previously, Woulfe served as CFO at Makani (an Alphabet X moonshot for airborne wind energy), led procurement in solar firms like Sungevity and Recurrent Energy, and started his career as a process engineer at Intel. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
Malcolm Handley
Fusion VC Pioneer, Strong Atomics
panelistMalcolm Handley is an American venture capitalist and former software engineer best known as the founder and managing partner of Strong Atomics, a San Francisco-based firm established in 2017 that specializes in investing in nuclear fusion startups to accelerate the development of clean, abundant, and commercially viable energy. Transitioning from a 17-year tech career—including roles as a senior engineer at Google, the first employee at Asana, and early work in virtual worlds—Handley pivoted to climate solutions, concluding fusion held unique promise. After serving in tech-to-market roles for fusion at ARPA-E, he continues to advise and back innovative approaches, with portfolio companies including Zap Energy, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and NearStar Fusion.
Bud Vos
CEO, MetOx
Bud Vos is the founder and CEO of MetOx International, a company established in 1989 that specializes in advanced materials, particularly high-temperature superconductors. He has a background in physics and has led the company in developing innovative technologies for various applications. In his current role, he oversees the strategic direction and commercialization efforts of MetOx's materials science initiatives.
Clea Kolster
Partner, Lowercarbon
panelistClea Kolster is a Partner at Lowercarbon Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investments in climate technology and decarbonization efforts. She works on identifying and supporting innovative companies that address environmental challenges, particularly in reducing carbon emissions. Her role involves strategic investments in the energy and sustainability sectors.
Liam Corrigan
Head of Finance, Fuse Energy
Liam Corrigan is the Head of Finance at Fuse Energy, where he leads supply chain operations and capital structuring for the fusion energy company building TITAN, the world's most efficient pulsed power generator for magnetized-liner inertial fusion. Liam graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a degree in Physics and Astrophysics and holds a Masters of Financial Economics with Distinction from Oxford. He represented the United States in rowing at two Olympic Games, winning gold in Paris 2024. Prior to Fuse, he worked at Alpine Investors and helped scale Tesla.
Caroline Anderson
Head of Public Affairs and Communications, Fusion Industry Association
Caroline Anderson serves as the Head of Public Affairs and Communications at the Fusion Industry Association, where she leads efforts in advocacy, policy communication, and public engagement for the fusion energy sector. She has spoken at events such as the Fusion Energy Landscape, demonstrating her expertise in promoting fusion technology and its potential impacts. Her role focuses on bridging the gap between the fusion industry and broader audiences through strategic communications.
Ara Knaian
CEO and co-founder, Acceleron
Ara Knaian is the CEO and co-founder of Acceleron, a company focused on advancing fusion energy technology. With a background in engineering and physics, he has played a key role in developing innovative solutions for sustainable energy. Under his leadership, Acceleron aims to bring fusion power to commercialization.
Jordan Kanis
Managing Director, Climate Technology and Sustainability, Silicon Valley Bank
panelistJordan Kanis is the Managing Director for Climate Technology and Sustainability at Silicon Valley Bank, where he leads investment strategies and advisory services for innovative climate-focused ventures. With a background in finance and environmental policy, he has previously held roles in banking and sustainability consulting, advising on green initiatives and capital raising. Among his notable achievements, Kanis has facilitated funding for renewable energy projects and contributed to industry discussions on sustainable finance. His expertise includes climate technology, green investments, and energy transition strategies.
