As part of the IGNITE Fusion Energy program, we will launch the Fusion Innovation Bootcamp (FIB), an entrepreneurship and innovation-focused training program for students to engage with fusion industry professionals, national lab researchers and university faculties through lectures, panels, hands-on sessions and pitch presentations.

The FIB is an intensive two-week initiative modeled after the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp, which has demonstrated significant workforce development and increased retention in the nuclear energy field. The FIB is intended to attract students from a wide range of disciplines – both within and beyond traditional STEM fields – to fusion, and encourage them to expand their knowledge and creativity to tackle real-world challenges in fusion applications.

The bootcamp will feature personalized mentorship, team-building activities, lectures about cutting-edge fusion engineering and technology research, and discussions on the fusion industry landscape, including regulatory frameworks, product development, financing, and more. Student teams will conceptualize and develop startup ideas for the fusion industry, culminating in a pitch competition judged by fusion professionals from industry and national laboratories.

This immersive learning process will help equip trainees with the innovative thinking skills and technical knowledge to succeed in a growing fusion workforce, and graduates of the program will continue to inspire and inform new trainees into future bootcamps. Speakers, panelists, mentors, judges, and sponsors from across the fusion community will be sought to participate in the program. The inaugural FIB involving 15 students is slated for June 15-26, 2026 at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, with an expanded program in summer 2027.

If you are interested in becoming a speaker, lecturer, mentor, judge or sponsor of the Fusion Innovation Bootcamp, please contact Joy Fan at fany1@ornl.gov.