How fusion power works and the startups pursuing it

Fusion power startups have attracted over $10 billion in investment and are closer than ever to building commercial reactors. Two primary approaches dominate: magnetic confinement (using strong magnetic fields to contain plasma in tokamaks or stellarators) and inertial confinement (using lasers or other methods to compress fuel pellets). Notable companies include Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Tokamak Energy, Proxima Fusion, Focused Energy, and Pacific Fusion. Inertial confinement is the only approach to have achieved scientific breakeven so far, at the National Ignition Facility. The article previews additional approaches like magnetized target fusion and muon-catalyzed fusion to be covered later.