Yesterday, the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) announced its largest concentrated investment in fusion technology so far, committing $135 million over the next 18 months to fund projects that develop and commercialize fusion technologies.

The agency said it has invested approximately $134 million in commercial fusion since it began funding fusion projects with the launch of its ALPHA program in 2014, so the next year and a half will see a doubling of the agency’s investment in the fusion space.

The White House is requesting $1.5 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy in the fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, about 9 percent less than the previous year.

The request from the Trump administration is one of several associated with nuclear energy in the proposal, which was released Friday. Congress still must review and vote on the budget.

President Donald Trump released his discretionary budget request Friday, stirring up questions from nuclear advocates about how the federal funding earmarked for domestic energy would fare.

The White House asked for nearly $1.6 billion in funding for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy in the fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, released earlier this week. The requested funding is about 10 percent lower than the FY 2024 budget appropriation but still requires congressional review and approval.