Fusion, a kind of holy grail for energy, has never successfully produced more power than was required to actually create the nuclear reaction. But some startups believe they are getting closer to flipping the equation. “Silicon Valley has been the foundation of the entire private fusion industry,” said Christofer Mowry, chief executive officer of Vancouver-based General Fusion, which is backed by Bezos and others. Mowry, who also serves on the board of the nonprofit industry group Fusion Industry Association, said venture investment has helped dozens of fusion startups mature to the point that governments are starting to engage. In an example earlier this month, the US Congress approved record funding for a public-private partnership program to build new fusion devices.

David Kirtley, a former implementer of fusion programs for the U.S. Department of Energy, started a fusion startup called Helion in 2013. The following year, he joined the Silicon Valley startup incubator Y Combinator, where he said he learned to “re-program” his thinking to be more ambitious. At YC, “they didn’t talk about one-year timelines,” Kirtley said. “Everything was next month and next week.”

Helion has raised more than $US570 million from investors including former YC President Sam Altman, Thiel’s Mithril Capital and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. Altman, who serves as Helion’s chairman and is a significant shareholder, said he believes fusion is the cleanest, cheapest form of energy that will someday transform the world. “All my conversations with them were about how they could go faster,” Altman said.

Helion aims to demonstrate net electricity from fusion, meaning the system creates more power than it consumes, in 2024 and create a commercial system by the end of the decade. “I wish we would have joined Y Combinator five years earlier,” Kirtley said. “We could be even farther along.”

Nuclear fission startups could have a more immediate impact. TerraPower, founded and bankrolled by Bill Gates, uses advanced cooling materials including molten-chloride and liquid-sodium to build smaller, cheaper and more efficient reactors than conventional ones that use water for cooling. TerraPower plans to build two reactors in cooperation with the Energy Department, with its first commercial reactor to be located in Wyoming. TerraPower said late last year it will apply for a construction permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2023 and expects to begin operations in 2028.

TerraPower has seen new interest from countries including Romania and Poland following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said Director of External Affairs Jeff Navin. “Not surprisingly we’re seeing the most interest from those places that are bordering Russia and relying on them for energy,” Navin said. John Kotek, vice president for policy development and public affairs for the Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute, said its member companies have been busier than usual “since the Russian sabre rattling started.”

Concerns over energy are particularly acute in Europe, which gets much of its fuel from Russia. Some countries that had been turning away from nuclear power are now reconsidering. “Germany would have needed less gas if they hadn’t shut down nuclear,” said Judi Greenwald, executive director for the Nuclear Innovation Alliance. “The invasion is a reminder that nuclear power is really reliable.”

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Despite the uptick in interest from governments, TerraPower’s Navin said the company had yet to reach a deal. It’s a reminder that even the most advanced startups are likely still many years away from a wide commercial rollout. Says Navin: “It takes time to sell a nuclear power plant.”