Tennessee Issues First US Fusion-Specific License, Clearing Type One Energy's Bull Run Site

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced on August 31, 2026 the issuance of the state's — and the nation's — first fusion-specific byproduct material license, granted to Knoxville-based Type One Energy for its Project Infinity at TVA's Bull Run Energy Complex in Clinton, Tennessee. The license lets Type One break ground on the Infinity One stellarator prototype at the site, ahead of a planned 400 MWe Infinity Two commercial pilot plant targeting full startup by 2034. Tennessee became the first US state with a regulatory framework specifically for fusion machines earlier in 2026; the Bull Run site is envisioned as a fusion development campus partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TVA, and the University of Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee, TVA interim CEO Mike Skaggs, and Type One CEO Christofer Mowry attended the announcement. Mowry said 'Tennessee's licensing process is now the international benchmark for how to ensure fusion power plant safety.'