Special Competitive Studies Project Announces Final Two Commissioners Joining Fusion Commission

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) today announced the final two commissioners on the Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy: Manu Asthana and Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh.

Manu Asthana is the president and CEO of PJM Interconnection, a U.S. grid operator serving 65 million people in 13 states as well as the District of Columbia. Previously, Asthana served as president of North America Home at Direct Energy, an energy retailer. He was also the senior vice president of trading and asset management at TXU Energy, a Texas-based retail electricity provider. Asthana's electricity industry experience covers power generation operations, optimization and dispatch, competitive retail electricity, electricity and natural gas trading, and risk management.

Rachel Slaybaugh is a partner at DCVC, a deep tech venture capital firm, and a co-founder of Good Energy Collective, a non-profit policy research team that is developing policies to accelerate the just and equitable deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. She was previously an associate professor of nuclear engineering at UC Berkeley and a division director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she ran the Cyclotron Road Accelerator, a program designed to support scientists by advancing their early-stage projects. Previously, Slaybaugh was a program director at ARPA-E, where she created its nuclear fission program.

With the addition of Mr. Asthana and Dr. Slaybaugh, the Commission includes 10 commissioners and three co-chairs. Previously announced commissioners are Dr. Kimberly Budil, director, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Dr. Steven Cowley, director, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; the Honorable Paul Dabbar, co-founder & CEO, Bohr Quantum Technology; Dr. David Kirtley, co-founder & CEO, Helion Energy; Mike Kuiken, distinguished visiting fellow, Hoover Institution; the Honorable Mark Menezes, president & CEO, United States Energy Association; Dr. Bob Mumgaard, co-founder & CEO, Commonwealth Fusion Systems; and Luke Murry, head of government affairs, Marvell Technology.

This first-of-its-kind initiative will be co-chaired by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), and SCSP President Ylli Bajraktari. The bipartisan Commission aims to position the United States at the forefront of the fusion energy race. It will hold its inaugural meeting on September 25 in Washington, D.C. and will run for 12 months.

For more information about the Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy, please contact Tara Rigler at [email protected]. For more information about SCSP, visit us on our website, and subscribe for regular newsletter and podcast updates at 2-2-2.

SOURCE Special Competitive Studies Project