Tennessee has issued the nation's first commercial fusion license to Type One Energy, clearing the Knoxville-based stellarator company to operate nuclear fusion machines at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Energy Complex in Clinton, Tennessee. Governor Bill Lee announced the milestone alongside TDEC and TVA leaders at the Organization of Agreement States (OAS) annual meeting in Nashville on August 31, 2026.
A first-of-its-kind fusion regulatory framework
The license is the first issued under a fusion-specific regulatory framework anywhere in the United States. When the Nuclear Regulatory Commission delegated regulation of fusion energy production to individual states, the TDEC Division of Radiological Health developed the licensing program that Tennessee has now used to authorize Type One Energy. Officials described the framework as a model for other states as commercial fusion moves from research demonstrations toward operating pilot plants.
"For the first time, a fusion power plant-specific licensing process has been developed and then used to grant a fusion-specific license to operate a fusion machine, consistent with a national regulatory framework for fusion energy," Type One CEO Christofer Mowry said. "The importance of this milestone cannot be overstated. Tennessee's licensing process is now the international benchmark for how to ensure fusion power plant safety by design in a manner that can unlock the compelling economics of this transformational power generation technology."
Project Infinity at Bull Run
With license in hand, Type One plans to break ground on the first phase of Project Infinity at Bull Run this year. The company will build its Infinity One stellarator prototype at the site, followed by Infinity Two, a 400-MWe fusion pilot power plant that Type One expects to reach full startup by 2034. The Bull Run complex — formerly a TVA coal plant — will also serve as a fusion development campus, hosting collaborative work between Type One, TVA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee.
Tennessee's nuclear cluster
The license lands during a busy month for advanced nuclear activity in Tennessee. The state's Department of Environment and Conservation stood up its fusion licensing program in June 2026, and the Bull Run site is emerging as a fusion supply-chain and research anchor alongside the wider Oak Ridge nuclear cluster. Governor Lee framed the milestone as evidence that the state is "the global epicenter of nuclear energy," building workforce, infrastructure and regulation together.
For Type One Energy, the license builds on an August partnership with ORNL to advance cryogenic pellet fueling for stellarators and an earlier wave of advanced-nuclear siting activity across US utilities and defense customers.
Reporting based on coverage from Type One Energy, TDEC, Nuclear News (ANS) and Chattanooga Times Free Press.