Zap Energy Unifies Fission and Fusion, Taps New CEO for Deployment

EVERETT, Wash. – April 29, 2026 – In a strategic move set to reshape its future, Zap Energy has appointed nuclear industry veteran Zabrina Johal as its new Chief Executive Officer. The leadership change coincides with the formal launch of an ambitious new strategy: unifying nuclear fission and fusion development under a single, integrated platform. The company aims to become the first to bridge the gap between today's deployable fission technology and the long-term promise of fusion energy.

Under the new structure, cofounder Benj Conway will transition to the role of President, where he will guide long-term strategy and technology development. The move signals a pivotal evolution for the company, shifting its focus from a research-driven organization to an industrial powerhouse geared for commercial deployment.

A New Nuclear Paradigm: Fission and Fusion United

Zap Energy is betting on a radical idea: that fission and fusion are not separate industries but two sides of the same nuclear coin. The company’s integrated platform strategy is built on the observation that both disciplines share deep technological overlaps in materials science, engineering, supply chains, and power conversion systems.

"Zap is entering its next phase—bringing fission and fusion together to accelerate innovation across the entire system, from core technologies to deployment," said new CEO Zabrina Johal. "This alignment allows us to accelerate progress, reduce complexity, and deliver power on timelines that match demand."

Rather than treating fission as a temporary bridge or fusion as a distant dream, the firm is building a unified development pipeline. Key areas of synergy include the use of liquid metals for cooling and power conversion, neutronics analysis, and the qualification of materials capable of withstanding extreme radiation environments. This approach allows a single engineering team to advance multiple nuclear technologies simultaneously, creating efficiencies and speeding up development cycles.

"Fission and fusion are two expressions of the same underlying physics," Conway explained. "This isn't a pivot—by integrating them into a single platform, we can move faster, reduce risk, and build a more enduring company."

Leadership to Execute at Scale

The appointment of Zabrina Johal is a clear indicator of Zap Energy's commitment to commercialization. Her extensive background spans the entire nuclear ecosystem, from hands-on reactor operations to high-level corporate strategy. A former officer in the U.S. Navy's prestigious Nuclear Power Program, Johal operated reactors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Her corporate experience includes leadership roles at General Atomics, where she worked on cost-effective reactor designs, and most recently as Senior Vice President for Nuclear Strategy at global engineering firm AtkinsRéalis.

"Zabrina is a proven operator with deep credibility across the nuclear ecosystem," Conway stated. "Her leadership significantly strengthens our ability to execute—commercially, technically, and operationally—as we move toward deployment."

The company has also bolstered its fission leadership team, appointing Daniel Walter, who previously led TerraPower's Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment, as its new Director of Nuclear Engineering. This strategic hiring underscores the firm's dual focus on executing near-term fission projects while advancing its fusion technology.

Powering the AI Revolution

Zap Energy's strategic shift is timed to meet an explosion in global energy demand, driven largely by the voracious appetite of artificial intelligence. Global data center electricity consumption is projected to more than double by 2030, with AI workloads responsible for the lion's share of that growth. This has sent tech giants scrambling for the kind of reliable, carbon-free, 24/7 baseload power that only nuclear energy can provide.

The company is explicitly targeting this market, planning to deploy compact, modular fission systems for distributed, industrial, and data-intensive applications. These Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) can be built in factories and deployed more quickly and flexibly than traditional, large-scale nuclear plants, making them an ideal solution for powering massive data center campuses.

Beyond driving demand, AI is also a powerful tool for accelerating nuclear innovation. Machine learning algorithms are being used to optimize reactor designs, predict maintenance needs, and enhance the stability of fusion plasmas, creating a virtuous cycle where nuclear powers AI and AI accelerates nuclear development.

A Dual-Track Technology Roadmap

Zap Energy is now advancing on two parallel tracks. The first involves the near-term deployment of a modular fission system, establishing a commercial foothold and generating revenue while leveraging technologies that are also applicable to its fusion program. This places the company in the competitive but maturing SMR market alongside players like NuScale and X-energy.

Simultaneously, the company continues to push the boundaries of fusion science. It has made significant progress with its sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch approach, a more compact fusion concept that does not require the massive superconducting magnets used in more common tokamak designs. The company has achieved new milestones on its FuZE-3 device and brought its next-generation FuZE-A system online.

As a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, Zap has already demonstrated key progress. In early 2025, it successfully met its first major milestone, operating a test system continuously for three hours in a liquid metal environment. This progress keeps the company on track toward its goal of designing a pilot fusion plant later this decade, positioning it among fusion leaders like Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Helion.

By pursuing both paths, Zap Energy is creating a unique value proposition in the advanced energy sector. It offers a pragmatic, phased approach to decarbonization, providing tangible power solutions today while building the transformative energy source of tomorrow.

"Demand for reliable power is moving faster than traditional energy systems can respond," Johal concluded. "Meeting that demand requires simpler, more adaptable systems and a faster path to deployment. Fission gives us a path to deploy. Fusion gives us a path to transform. Bringing them together is how we do both."