WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - Eight U.S. companies developing nuclear fusion energy will receive $46 million in taxpayer funding to pursue pilot plants attempting to generate power from the process that fuels the sun and stars, the Department of Energy said on Wednesday. Generating more energy from fusion reaction than goes into it has eluded scientists for decades. The Energy Department's Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program hopes to help develop pilot-scale demonstration of fusion within a decade. The awardees are:-Commonwealth Fusion Systems-Focused Energy Inc-Princeton Stellarators Inc-Realta Fusion Inc-Tokamak Energy Inc-Type One Energy Group-Xcimer Energy Inc-Zap Energy IncThe funding, which comes from the Energy Act of 2020, is for the first 18 months. Looking to launch fusion plants that use lasers or magnets, private companies and government labs spent $500 million on their supply chains last year, according to a Fusion Industry Association (FIA) survey.

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Persons: Harris, Jennifer Granholm, Timothy Gardner, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Department of Energy, Energy, Biden, Harris Administration, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Inc, Princeton Stellarators Inc, Tokamak Energy Inc, One Energy, Xcimer Energy, Fusion Industry Association, FIA, Thomson Locations: Washington