In December 2022, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory made history by completing a nuclear fusion ignition that produced a net energy gain, releasing more energy than the laser power required to initiate it. That incredible milestone sparked a fusion technology arms race, and investors are eager to get in early on a technology that could eventually provide safe, clean and unlimited energy.
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However, while nuclear fusion has incredible potential and the scientific field is making impressive progress, there are limited entry points for the average investor. In addition, the fusion technology field is still so early in the development stage that it may be several years or even decades before nuclear fusion can be commercialized and integrated into the power grid. It’s also difficult to anticipate which of the early stage fusion companies will ultimately succeed and which could fall flat.
Alberto Jimenez Crespo, senior global research analyst at Aristotle Capital, says the promise of nuclear fusion is certainly exciting, but investors need to be fully aware of the challenges and potential timeline for the technology.
“Fusion demands extreme conditions: temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius (more than 10 times hotter than the sun’s core) and sufficient pressure to force nuclei close enough to fuse,” Jimenez Crespo says.
In fact, he says maintaining a stable, high-energy plasma needed to sustain a fusion reaction remains one of the greatest challenges for modern engineering.
“Experts suggest commercial viability may still be decades away, with estimates ranging between 2035 and 2050,” Jimenez Crespo says.
Nevertheless, there are now a couple of publicly traded companies that have high exposure to nuclear fusion and several other larger companies that could benefit from major investments in private fusion startups. Here are five of the best ways to invest in nuclear fusion today:
— General Fusion Group Ltd. (ticker: GFUZ)
— Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT)
— Chevron Corp. (CVX)
— Nucor Corp. (NUE)
General Fusion Group Ltd. (GFUZ)
In July 2026, General Fusion became the first publicly traded nuclear fusion pure play stock via a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp III.
General Fusion is a Canadian company developing Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology with the goal of bringing zero-carbon fusion energy to market by the early to mid-2030s. The company’s Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) at its Canadian headquarters achieved first plasma in February 2025 and first plasma compression in April 2025. LM26 is the first MTF demonstration machine that is built on a commercially relevant scale. General Fusion is now working toward a series of results that could prove MTF can be commercially viable, including demonstrating fusion conditions of more than 100 million degrees Celsius and meeting the Lawson criterion for net energy production.
Ultimately, General Fusion’s long-term goal is to begin operating a first-of-a-kind nuclear fusion power plant with an integrated, commercial-scale MTF machine by approximately 2035.
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT)
Trump Media & Technology Group is a media company focused on prioritizing free speech. It is the parent company of social media platform Truth Social, which was created in 2022 after U.S. President Donald Trump was kicked off Facebook and Twitter in 2021.
In one of the most unexpected deals on Wall Street in recent years, Trump Media announced a $6 billion merger with nuclear fusion power company TAE Technologies in December 2025. Upon completion of the merger, Trump Media will become one of the only publicly traded fusion companies.
TAE has been researching and improving its fusion technology for decades, and the company believes it is on the brink of commercial application. In fact, Trump Media and TAE say the combination of TAE’s fusion reactors and DJT’s access to significant capital has the combined company positioned to begin construction of the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant as soon as the end of 2026.
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Alphabet is one of the world’s largest online search and advertising companies and is the parent company of Google and YouTube. In July 2022, Alphabet was part of a $250 million fundraising round for TAE Technologies.
In 2025, Google participated in an $863 million fundraising round for private nuclear fusion technology company Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and struck a deal with CFS to buy 200 megawatts of clean fusion power from CFS once it gets its ARC plant up and running. Just months later, Google’s AI research arm, DeepMind, announced a new research partnership with CFS.
In 2026, Google backed German startup Proxima Fusion in a $468 million fundraising round, further diversifying its fusion technology investment portfolio.
Investors got a preview of what nuclear fusion could mean for Alphabet’s share price when the stock jumped 5% the day the initial fusion breakthrough was announced in December 2022. In a fusion arms race that involves extremely advanced technology, Alphabet’s industry-leading AI technology could give TAE and CFS an edge in cracking the fusion code in the next several years.
Chevron Corp. (CVX)
Chevron is a global oil major that operates exploration and production, refining and marketing, and petrochemical businesses. Chevron also participated in the funding round for TAE Technologies in July 2022. In addition, Chevron has invested in Zap Energy, a startup developing a next-generation modular nuclear reactor with the goal of producing commercially scalable fusion. In November 2025, Zap achieved a record plasma pressure with its newest sheared-flow-stabilized, Z-pinch fusion reactor.
Clean energy investors often see legacy oil and gas companies like Chevron as obsolete dinosaurs, but Chevron is taking an aggressive approach to position itself well for a green future. In addition to its investments in nuclear fusion, Chevron has pledged to invest $10 billion in clean energy technology such as renewable fuels, geothermal energy and carbon capture.
While Chevron investors wait for nuclear fusion technology to advance, they can also enjoy Chevron’s 3.7% dividend.
Nucor Corp. (NUE)
Nucor is the largest U.S. mini-mill steelmaker and is one of the most diversified steel producers in North America. However, it’s not Nucor’s steel business that makes it a top nuclear fusion investment.
While far from a fusion pure play, Nucor made a $35 million equity investment in Helion Energy in 2023 and entered into an ongoing partnership with the fusion startup that involves constructing a 500 MW fusion plant that could one day provide power for a steel mill. Helion began construction of its Orion fusion plant in 2025, and the company expects its seventh-generation Polaris prototype reactor will be the first to generate electricity from fusion.
In mid-2026, another round of Helion fundraising indicated the company now has a $15.5 billion valuation. Nucor has likely already made a large profit on its Helion investment, and a commercial-scale fusion plant to power its steel operations could go a long way in helping Nucor achieve its long-term goal of net-zero operations by 2050.
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Nuclear Fusion: 5 Ways to Invest in the Energy Breakthrough originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 08/10/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
