Alan Boyle gives some additional details about the Navy funded Polywell fusion power project (see post here) that recently published a paper on progress they have made : Low-Cost Fusion Project Steps Out of the Shadows and Looks for Money – NBC News.com.

The Navy funding is running out and they are now looking for private funding. This is not out of the question. General Fusion in Canada has raised a considerable amount of money from Jeff Bezos and others. And secretive Tri-Alpha Energy has raised money from Paul Allen another others as well. (Others is a very rich guy…)

===

Another promising fusion power approach that I’ve mentioned here several times (e.g. see here and here)  is the dense focus fusion concept, which LPP Power in New Jersey is pursuing. Their crowdfunding campaign has raised $120,000 towards a $200,000 goal. They just got a 20 day extension to try to reach the full amount: FOCUS FUSION: emPOWERtheWORLD -Indiegogo.

===

One might have the wacky idea that the Department of Energy would grant some modest funding to these high risk but high pay-off fusion power projects. However, most all of DOE’s fusion funding goes directly or indirectly to the ITER tokamak project, which will, at best, provide a pay-off in 30 or 40 years.

This is typical in science and engineering programs, the biggest project gets bigger and bigger as its influence and industry/political ties multiply with its spending.  See, for example, SLS/Orion in NASA’s HSF program and James Webb Space Telescope in NASA’s science outlays.