Arrival, introductions and informal networking

Welcome and framing: fusion as a capability ecosystem for defence and national security.

Welcome and framing: fusion as a capability ecosystem for defence and national security.

This session provides a foundational understanding of fusion energy, outlines fusion-related technologies relevant to defence, and explores the investment theses they present ahead of grid-scale power generation.

• Core Fusion Principles: the fundamentals of fusion and the rapid advance of private fusion and related technologies, and strategic implications, including China’s fusion capabilities and ambitions
• Investment Theses: how spin-outs, including potential near-term defence revenue, combine with long-term fusion energy upside
• Defence Applications: dual-use for high-energy systems, sensing, advanced materials, resilient electronics in counter-UAS, DEW, hypersonics, underwater systems, nuclear, and resilient space platforms
• From Innovation to Capability: How defence users/primes identify tech, assess operational problems they solve, integrate into systems and architectures, including the interplay of emerging technologies and evolving threats. How best to connect technologies to investment, application and routes to capability.

Moderated by Richard Pearson, Co-founder & CEO - StandardX

Presentations: Two short presentations from fusion innovators outlining and explaining fusion-derived technology and its application for DEW.

Panel Discussion: fusion-derived advancements in high-power systems and applications in next-generation defence platforms as disruptive DEW and countermeasures. 

• High-Power Architectures: An overview of cutting-edge fusion-derived RF, laser, and EMP designs including novel amplification and pulse-generation techniques, and their respective advantages for defence applications.
• Directed-Energy Weapons (DEW): Advantages and challenges of current laser-based and RF-based DEWs and the potential for fusion-derived advancements across the DEW spectrum.
• Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Effects: The role of high-power EMP as a non-kinetic, area-denial and electronic warfare tool covering directed EMP for targeted electronics disruption, hardening and survivability considerations.
• Countermeasure Precision Effects: The use of lasers for dazzling optical sensors, directed RF and EMP for disabling electronics, and generating laser or EMP arrays to defeat incoming threats.

Moderated by Stuart Allen, CEO - FusionX

Connect with fellow attendees and network over coffee

Presentations: Two short presentations from fusion innovators, exploring the potential dual-use and defence applications of fusion-derived particle sources. 

Panel Discussion: the strategic applications of compact neutron and particle sources derived from fusion research, particularly in threat detection, and in hardening critical infrastructure against radiation and EMP effects. 

• Compact Neutron Source Technologies: an overview of emerging compact, high-flux neutron sources and their advantages over traditional reactor-based sources. 
• Materials Testing and Radiation Hardening: the critical role of neutron sources in qualifying materials and electronics for harsh radiation environments, ensuring the resilience of military assets in space and other contested domains. 
• Threat Detection and Non-Destructive Inspection: neutron and particle beams for detecting shielded special nuclear materials, identifying explosives, and structural defects in critical components. 

Moderated by Nicholas Davies, COO - FusionX

An informal networking lunch

Presentation: A short presentation exploring the current and potential application of fusion-derived technologies in and for space.  

Panel Discussion: the transformative impact of fusion technologies on the resilience and operational capability of space-based systems. 

• Enhanced Maneuverability: how advanced propulsion can provide satellites with greater agility to evade threats, reposition assets, and maintain orbital dominance in a contested space environment. 
• Resilience: how fusion-derived tech can test and harden components and systems against extreme space and reentry environments. 
• Power: the potential role of fusion systems in providing both propulsion and high-capacity electrical power for advanced sensors, and other power-intensive payloads in near space. 

Moderated by Valerie Jamieson, Development Manager - The Fusion Cluster

An interactive presentation exploring the role of neutron-resistant and plasma-facing materials in next-generation defence capabilities, incl. material under extreme radiation and thermal flux and pathways to integration across applications including directed-energy weapon systems, hypersonic and missile structures, munitions casings, and shielding/armour. 

Presentation: Two short presentations exploring the current and potential application of fusion-derived AI in defence.

Discussion: An interactive discussion exploring AI’s operational potential and the practical steps required to move from experimentation to responsible, secure deployment at scale.

• Where can AI deliver the most meaningful near-term value in defence?
• How can defence organisations balance the need for speed and autonomy with meaningful oversight, accountability, and compliance?
• How can defence AI systems be secured against adversarial attacks, model manipulation, data poisoning, and compromise?
• What capabilities - data foundations, talent, procurement models, alliances, and governance - must be developed now to deploy defence AI responsibly and at scale?

Moderated by Nick Davies, COO, FusionX

Connect with fellow attendees and network over coffee

An interactive dialogue exploring the cutting edge of robotics and autonomous systems from the extreme environments of nuclear fusion to the complex demands of modern defence. This session examines real-world deployment challenges, emerging capabilities, and the technologies shaping the future of both sectors. 

Moderated by Stuart Allen, CEO - FusionX

A presentation exploring the need to outpace evolving threats by deploying cutting-edge capabilities faster, and the process of taking leading edge innovations from lab to system to deployment in dual-use and defence.  

Moving fusion-derived technologies from the laboratory to deployed defence systems requires more than technical performance: technologies must meet platform requirements, survive qualification, be manufacturable at scale and have a viable procurement pathway. 

• Collaboration Roadmaps: identifying near-term applications and defining practical pathways from demonstration through integration to deployment. 
• OEM & Supply-Chain Readiness: engaging primes early and developing secure, scalable supply chains capable of supporting deployment. 
• Platform Integration: adapting laboratory technologies to meet size, weight, power, reliability and interoperability requirements. 
• Testing & Qualification: demonstrating performance and reliability in operationally relevant environments and progressively retiring integration risk. 
• Synthesis of opportunities & summary of investment opportunities and pathways. 

Moderated by John Kermath, Co-Founder & General Partner - London GreenCity