THU AM News: Data center expansion presents ‘massive opportunity’ for fusion energy, says Realta Fusion leader; New gBETA accelerator aims to advance cutting-edge tech

May 7, 2026

— The head of Realta Fusion says rising energy demand tied to data center expansion “provides a massive opportunity for fusion” even as public opinion has shifted to be more negative about these projects.

Kieran Furlong, CEO of the Madison-based fusion company, spoke during this week’s Great Lakes Fusion Energy Summit.

“I do think we want to make sure we communicate to communities when we talk about it, that this is part of the solution, this is actually how we reduce your energy cost, right?” he said. “So we could look at putting a fusion plant right next to a data center.”

As Realta Fusion and other businesses work toward commercial fusion energy production, panelists at the summit discussed how to strengthen the supply chain needed to support these efforts.

Furlong said building a supply network for fusion energy parts means having to “paint a picture for what fusion can become” to overcome initial difficulties. But the industry presents huge upside for the supply chain in the years to come, he added.

“You’re saying okay, right now I’m asking you to make a one-off, very complicated device, but if we succeed in this, we’re going to be rolling out fusion plants so fast, you’ll be scaling up your business as well,” he said.

He drew a parallel to the history of traditional nuclear fission plants as well as wind energy in more recent years, noting both saw rapid growth in the decades after being introduced as a new commercial energy source.

“These things ramp up really, really quickly,” he said. “So we’re looking at, if we can successfully demonstrate our technology and have a first fusion power plant in the mid-2030s, we’ll be rapidly building a plant every two years, if not faster. So that’s the future for suppliers.”

Wisconsin’s existing manufacturing base is already supporting fusion technology development in the state, UW-Madison Prof. Stephanie Diem told summit attendees. She has led work on the Pegasus-III fusion energy experiment within the university’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics.

Diem said the Pegasus-III team ran into “roadblocks” while trying to build the machine, facing issues with finding less expensive components and working with third-party vendors elsewhere.

“We found very quickly, not only did they not have the stock of the materials that we needed, but they didn’t have the expertise needed to build these custom parts to actually do the research that we do,” she said. “So we … reached out to the local shops, who truly saved us.”

And while some investors are betting big on the future of fusion energy itself, others are funding the supply chain networks needed to fuel the industry’s growth. Chris Good, founding partner of Induction Partners, said fusion is “a challenging place to be putting capital right now” given the long runway ahead.

“Although there are maybe only a small handful of well-capitalized fusion companies globally, I would say, there are a lot of technologies that are spinning out of fusion that are incredibly interesting, and will have a huge amount of application outside of fusion,” he said. “And that for me is a much more fertile bit of land to focus on.”

Much like with the global market for solar panel components and batteries, “China is ramping up rapidly” and investing hundreds of millions of dollars into producing high-temperature superconducting materials that are critical for nuclear fusion as well as data centers, Good said.

“Right now we’re facing exactly the same problems as we faced within photovoltaic cells, within batteries … their target is to bring down the cost of HTS way below anything that the western world can do, in an effort to prevent anyone in the West actually manufacturing it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Diem added fusion could provide greater energy security to Wisconsin, which is currently a net energy importer.

“This can provide us as a state, a path to that energy security, to power our manufacturing industry and all the other sectors that can help lead to the economic growth of the state as a whole,” she said.

See more from the summit at WisconsinEye.

— A new gBETA startup accelerator will focus on early-stage companies developing technologies such as quantum computing, robotics, AI, energy storage and more.

The Wisconsin Frontier Technology Consortium this week announced the new gBETA Frontier Technology program, offering a free, seven-week non-equity program for entrepreneurs. Applications are open and the program kicks off July 9.

It will provide “concierge coaching” and access to the gener8tor network, with a goal of helping program graduates connect with customers and mentors as they prepare to raise capital.

The program will be located at consortium member Waukesha County Technical College. Others in the coalition — which is led by the Wisconsin Technology Council — include UW-Madison, WARF, gener8tor and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

“Across Wisconsin, researchers and entrepreneurs are developing frontier technologies that will impact the future of our core sectors like manufacturing, ag and healthcare,” Tech Council President Maggie Brickerman said in a statement. “We are thrilled to launch this accelerator to create stronger pathways for emerging companies to grow here, scale here and help shape Wisconsin’s innovation economy.”

The coalition has received $950,000 in funding through the WEDC Ignite Wisconsin program, which supports regional partnerships that boost entrepreneurs.

See the release.

Listen to a recent WisBusiness podcast with Danielle Scarzello, director of the gBETA program at gener8tor.

— Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez says cuts to Medicaid under the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will worsen healthcare cost challenges for Wisconsin residents.

Rodriguez, who’s running for governor as a Democrat, spoke yesterday during an online news conference organized by Protect Our Care. She highlighted her background in nursing, noting she observed patients put off care “until something treatable turned into a crisis” as well as parents struggling to afford the cost of insulin for their child.

“I’ve also been to all 72 counties in the state as lieutenant governor, and the number one thing I hear in every county, red, blue, urban, suburban, rural, is they cannot afford the healthcare, and they can’t get it when they need it,” she said. “This Republican bill just made every bit of that worse.”

She noted 900 hospitals, nursing homes and clinics around the country are either closing, at risk of closing or cutting essential services due to the Medicaid cuts, including three in rural Wisconsin.

“When the only hospital for 40 miles closes its doors, a heart attack becomes a death sentence,” she said. “A complicated birth becomes a tragedy. And that’s what’s coming, and Republicans knew that when they voted yes.”

Rodriguez targeted GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in her comments, noting “he voted for it, he owns it and from what I can tell, he does not care.” Tiffany, who represents the 7th CD in northern Wisconsin, is also running for governor.

In an emailed statement responding to yesterday’s remarks, Tiffany noted Rodriguez said she wants to craft the state budget “behind a curtain” and is now proposing “another government-subsidized health care plan without providing any estimate” of the cost to taxpayers.

“We have seen how this plays out before with Obamacare, when Democrats like Nancy Pelosi said we had to pass the bill to find out what was in it, and premiums have nearly tripled since then,” he said. “As governor, I will require upfront hospital price transparency, enforce work requirements for welfare, protect taxpayer dollars from funding health care for illegal aliens, and expand options so families, not the government, can choose what works best for them.”

— The rate of older adults in Wisconsin visiting the emergency room due to a fall has been steadily rising since 2020, according to new figures from the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging.

More than 55,000 adults aged 65 and older in Wisconsin went to the emergency room due to a fall in 2024, the report shows. Nearly 13,000 were hospitalized and at least 1,800 died.

The institute notes that’s more than triple the number of deaths from motor vehicle crashes across all age groups for that year.

Meanwhile, the age-adjusted rate of unintentional falls among state residents aged 65 and older has risen from fewer than 500 per 100,000 population in 2020 to more than 600 per 100,000 in 2024.

Jill Renken, the institute’s executive director, says providing greater access to fall prevention programs could “make a real difference” for older adults facing this risk.

The report points to the group’s Stepping On program, noting it’s been found to reduce falls by 31% for participants. It involves weekly workshops on assessing fall risk, assistive tools such as canes, travel safety, bone health and more, in addition to exercise routines.

“Falls are common and can have a big impact on someone’s life, but they don’t have to be a normal part of getting older,” Renken said. “We know what causes most falls, and we know how to prevent them. There are easy things we can all do to build resiliency and lower the risk of falling.”

See the release and read the report.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

Ascension Wisconsin moves to tele-ICUs at some hospitals, no ICU doctors on-site

Another data center could be announced by fall: We Energies executive

TOPICS

CONSTRUCTION

– Green Bay greenlights $32.4M plan to build 168 apartments in downtown

ENVIRONMENT

– Wisconsin groups among more than 80 calling for emergency action on nitrate pollution

– Mississippi River, Great Lakes groups tell feds to act on nitrate

FINANCIAL SERVICES

– Credit union planning ‘aggressive’ area expansion eyes second location

FOOD & BEVERAGE