Record funding for European fusion; world's largest privately owned laser just turned on; Thea Energy raises $100M in new funding

<p>Jasmine Mund, mechanical design engineer with a key interest in the fusion industry, gives this week’s global Fusion News update. As always, links to the stories mentioned are included below.</p><p><br></p><p>1. Record funding for European fusion</p><p>https://www.neimagazine.com/news/record-funding-for-european-fusion/</p><p><br></p><p>2. The world’s largest privately owned laser just turned on</p><p>https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/03/the-worlds-largest-privately-owned-laser-just-turned-on/</p><p><br></p><p>3. Thea Energy Raises $100 Million in New Funding to Advance Fusion Technology</p><p>https://www.powermag.com/thea-energy-raises-100-million-in-new-funding-to-advance-fusion-technology/</p><p><br></p><p>4. Commonwealth Fusion Systems says papers validate its quest to generate power</p><p>https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/commonwealth-fusion-says-papers-validate-its-quest-generate-power-2026-06-04/</p><p><br></p><p>5. Helion hits $15.5B valuation with $465M in new cash as it aims to commercialize fusion this decade</p><p>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/helion-hits-15-5b-valuation-with-465m-in-new-cash-to-commercialize-fusion-this-decade/#:~:text=Helion%20Energy%2C%20a%20startup%20racing,now%20valued%20at%20%2415.5%20billion.</p><p><br></p><p>Bonus:</p><p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTH0kJ6dSaE</p><p><br></p><p>https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/02/pacific-fusions-latest-prototype-packs-440-gigawatts-into-an-80-nanosecond-burst/</p><p><br></p><p>https://interestingengineering.com/energy/nuclear-fusion-durability-breakthrough-scan</p><p><br></p><p>https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/iter-magnet-test-facility-begins-operation</p><p><br></p><p>https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/world-first-floating-fusion-reactor-powered-vessel</p>