House lawmakers introduced a bill to expand the advanced manufacturing production tax credit for companies that produce components for nuclear fusion energy, even as Republicans have scaled back the credits for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) introduced the Fusion Advanced Manufacturing Parity Act on Wednesday to expand the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit (45X) to include fusion energy components. Those who produce and sell energy components, such as solar components, battery cells, and certain critical minerals, are eligible for the tax credit.
“As the fusion energy industry grows, the United States must ensure we are on the forefront of not just innovation but also manufacturing,” Miller said in a statement. “Time and time again, we have seen American innovation become dominated by a Chinese supply chain – and fusion technology is currently running that risk.”
“The Fusion Advanced Manufacturing Parity Act ensures fusion energy component manufacturers have support here in the United States to cement our foothold in this emerging, multi-trillion-dollar industry,” she said. “We must act fast to ensure this critical supply chain takes root in the United States, allowing us to lead the world in commercial fusion.”
Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Don Beyer (D-VA) are cosponsoring the bill.
Fusion energy is a type of power generation that replicates the processes that fuel the sun and other stars.
Jackie Siebens, director of public affairs at Helion Energy, told the Washington Examiner that the bill was the result of a collaborative effort with members of the Fusion Industry Association to consider what provisions were necessary to help grow the industry and build a scalable fusion ecosystem in the U.S. over the next decade.
Helion Energy is a private fusion-energy startup based in Washington that is building the world’s first commercial fusion power plant.
“45x is a critical first step to get us on the right path, to make sure that we are actually, not only as always being the best at inventing here in America, but also doing the work to scale so that we actually reap the economic and strategic benefits of the market,” Siebens said.
The bill would establish a 25% credit for qualified fusion energy components, effective Jan. 1, 2026, and ending in 2034. The bill also expands the critical mineral list of 45X to include deuterium, helium-3, tritium, lithium compounds, and copper-chromium-zirconium alloys.
“Fusion sits in an interesting space, certainly from Helion’s perspective, because we view the role of government as changing for fusion. We’re really at a paradigm shift, and we’re moving from this traditional academic sphere where fusion has resided into a commercial space,” Siebens said.
“We need the federal government to move more into a space of helping support the private sector to build out the full ecosystem of a commercial fusion marketplace,” she added.
The 45X tax credit was initially part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, signed by former President Joe Biden, which provided hundreds of billions of dollars in credits for clean energy. However, earlier this year, the Trump administration and Republicans rolled back many of these credits in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Republicans did not completely scale back the 45X tax credit, though.
The GOP bill mandated that manufacturers produce eligible components in the U.S. or its territories. The credits vary by component type.
DEMOCRATS CALL MAJORIE TAYLOR GREENE OUT FOR DOGE HEARING ON WEATHER MODIFICATION
The bill comes as the Trump administration has slowed or even blocked the development of clean energy sources, such as wind and solar energy. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated 45X credits for all related wind components produced and sold after 2027. The phase-out period was not moved up for other energy components and will begin in 2030.
Republicans also included a provision that would allow metallurgical coal, which is used in steel production, to claim an advanced manufacturing production tax credit. Trump has vowed to revive the coal and steel industries.