Inertia Enterprises, a commercial fusion energy company, has formed a Science and Technology Advisory Board comprising leading experts in fusion plasma physics, high-energy laser systems and nuclear materials science. The board will provide independent technical assessment of Inertia's programmes as it works towards delivering grid-scale fusion energy in the 2030s. The advisory board is chaired by Dr Marvin Adams, former Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Dr Annie Kritcher, Inertia's co-founder and chief scientist, said the board's mandate is to challenge assumptions and identify risks to strengthen the company's technical path. The formation follows fusion science demonstrations that have already achieved significant energy gain in laboratory settings.

Valley reveals 2026 #gamechangers honorees ahead of ninth annual awards celebration. Pac-12, Inertia Fusion Energy, SavvyMoney, Calyxo, and Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Named Among Region's Most Transformative Companies and Institutions DUBLIN, Calif. - 6 May 2026 - Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group (ITV) today announced the honorees for the ninth annual #GameChangers Awards - the Tri-Valley's signature celebration of breakthrough innovation, visionary leadership, and the companies and individuals reshaping one of the most dynamic regional economies in the world. The 2026 honorees represent the full breadth of the Tri-Valley's innovation ecosystem: a reinvented sports and entertainment powerhouse, a fusion energy company that may hold the key to the planet's clean energy future, a fintech platform changing how millions of Americans understand and manage credit, a medical device company attacking one of urology's most painful and persistent problems, and a healthcare institution that has fundamentally transformed how Tri-Valley residents access world-class care. The awards will be presented on Thursday, May 21, 2026, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM at The Roundhouse at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. This year's honorees include: PAC-12 CONFERENCE - San Ramon Innovation in Sports & Entertainment Few institutions in American sports have undergone a transformation as dramatic - or as closely watched - as the Pac-12 Conference. Having relocated its operations to San Ramon, the Pac-12 is rewriting its own story from the heart of the Tri-Valley, building a next-generation model for collegiate sports and entertainment that leverages Silicon Valley's proximity, the Bay Area's media infrastructure, and a legacy brand that generations of fans across the western United States know and love. The Pac-12's reinvention is not just a sports story. It is a story about what it looks like when a storied institution bets on the Tri-Valley as the place to write its next chapter. INERTIA FUSION ENERGY - Livermore Innovation in Energy & Deep Technology Livermore has long been home to some of the most ambitious science in the world - and Inertia Fusion Energy is squarely in that tradition. Building on the landmark fusion ignition achieved at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in December 2022, Inertia Fusion Energy is working to translate that historic scientific breakthrough into a viable, commercially deployable clean energy technology. If successful, the implications are civilization-scale: abundant, carbon-free energy produced from the same physics that powers the stars. That this work is developing in Livermore is not a coincidence. It is the result of decades of scientific investment that the entire region has taken stake in. SAVVYMONEY - Dublin Innovation in Financial Technology The vast majority does not fully understand their credit score - a number that shapes their ability to buy a home, secure a loan, and build financial stability. SavvyMoney, headquartered in Dublin, is changing that. The company's credit score and financial wellness platform is embedded in the digital banking experiences of credit unions and financial institutions serving tens of millions of consumers nationwide, providing real-time credit insights, personalized offers, and the kind of financial clarity that was previously available only to those who knew where to look and what to look for. SavvyMoney's work is not just fintech. It's financial equity, shared at scale, and built in the Tri-Valley. CALYXO - Pleasanton Innovation in Biotechnology & Medical Devices Kidney stones affect one in ten Americans and represent one of the most painful and costly conditions in urology - with recurrence rates that make treatment a recurring challenge for millions of patients. Calyxo, based in Pleasanton, has developed a breakthrough medical device technology designed to dramatically improve the efficiency and outcomes of kidney stone treatment, reducing procedure time, improving stone clearance, and enabling patients to return to health faster. The company's technology is the product of deep clinical insight and rigorous engineering - and its trajectory from Pleasanton to surgical suites across the country is precisely the kind of innovation story the Tri-Valley was built to produce and tell. STANFORD HEALTH CARE TRI-VALLEY - Founders Award Transformative Impact on the Tri-Valley Innovation Ecosystem The annual Founders Award honors an individual or organization whose contribution to the Tri-Valley's innovation ecosystem transcends a single sector or a single year - whose presence has fundamentally changed what is possible for the region and the people who live here. This year, that recognition is given to Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley. When Stanford Health Care opened its Tri-Valley campus, it did not simply add another hospital to a growing region. It signaled to the world that the Tri-Valley was a place worthy of competitive institutional investment - and it delivered on that signal by bringing the clinical expertise, research capabilities, and care standards of one of the world's leading academic medical centers to the doorstep of Tri-Valley families. The impact has been profound: on patient outcomes, on the region's ability to attract and retain top talent, on the broader healthcare ecosystem, and on the confidence of every company and family that has chosen to build a home in the region. Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley has not just served this community. It has strengthened it and made life and living sought after in the Tri-Valley. The #GameChangers Awards - Nine Years of Honoring the Tri-Valley's Best Now in its ninth year, the #GameChangers Awards has become the most anticipated event on the Tri-Valley's innovation calendar - a high-energy reception and awards ceremony that unites the region's founders, funders, civic leaders, and entrepreneurs to honor the companies and individuals transforming the Tri-Valley into a global innovation hub. "The 2026 cohort is extraordinary - and equally emblematic of a Tri-Valley that is not waiting for the future to arrive," said Katie Marcel, CEO, Innovation Tri-Valley. "This region's innovation story is a huge contribution to the leadership of California. It is a bearer of hope for the world." The ninth annual #GameChangers Awards will feature a hosted reception and the presentation of this year's honorees in a program designed to energize and inspire everyone in the room. Tickets, sponsorship opportunities and more information are available at [email protected]. ###. ABOUT INNOVATION TRI-VALLEY LEADERSHIP GROUP Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group (ITV) is a collaborative network of corporate leaders, elected and civic officials, educators, and regional champions dedicated to advancing the Tri-Valley as a globally recognized hub of technology, entrepreneurship, and economic vitality. Spanning the cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and the Town of Danville, the Tri-Valley is home to two national research laboratories - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories - more than 700 technology companies, and a regional innovation economy generating $52 billion in GDP. ITV connects the dots between the public and private sectors, amplifies the region's breakthrough companies and people, and shapes the long-term economic future of one of the Bay Area's fastest-growing and most dynamic regions. Learn more at innovationtrivalley.org. MEDIA CONTACT

LLNL partners with Inertia to develop fusion energy technology. Integrated private sector-led collaboration is unique in history of LLNL and U.S. DOE's national lab system. 15 April 2026 The achievement of fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)'s National Ignition Facility (NIF) in December 2022 was the culmination of more than 60 years of research and development in laser-driven inertial confinement fusion at LLNL. Image: LLNL. Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are partnering with San Francisco Bay Area fusion energy startup Inertia Enterprises Inc. with the aim of advancing fusion laser technology, as well as inertial fusion target manufacturing and designs.# The collaboration is described by the partners as "an expansive and integrated private sector-led partnership, unique in the history of LLNL and the DOE national laboratory system." Kim Budil, director of LLNL, commented, "We are committed to ensuring that the 60 years of public investment, fusion leadership, and scientific breakthroughs achieved here don't stay in the laboratory. This partnership positions LLNL's expertise in inertial fusion science, laser technology, physics design and target fabrication to directly inform the industrial-scale development that commercial fusion demands." Jean Paul Allain, director of the DOE Office of Fusion, added, "Fusion is one of the greatest scientific and technological challenges of our time, and it is one we simply cannot afford to lose. What makes this moment different is that we are no longer pursuing it in isolation. We are bringing together the full strength of our national labs, private industry and the broader innovation ecosystems to move from breakthrough to deployment." Jeff Lawson, CEO and co-founder of Inertia, said, "Decades of public investment in fusion science have created a foundation that only America's national labs could have built. Inertia exists to take that foundation and do what the private sector does best: build at scale and deliver commercial impact." This new collaboration consists of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement focused on laser development, as well as two Strategic Partnership Projects (SPP). One SPP advances fusion target design, while the other explores target-fabrication technologies. LLNL's engagement in this partnership is managed by the Livermore Institute of Fusion Technology (LIFT), a newly established institute designed to strike breakthrough partnerships with the growing fusion energy industry, in collaboration with the Lab's Innovation and Partnerships Office, which facilitated the CRADA. "This expansive partnership will apply the lessons of achieving fusion ignition at LLNL's National Ignition Facility toward making fusion energy a reality," said Tammy Ma, director of LIFT at LLNL. "We are excited to break new ground with Inertia as we continue establishing public-private partnerships that move fusion forward." LIFT is well placed to help bridge the gap between research and future commercial fusion power by building collaborative frameworks supporting both startups and established companies with resources, expertise, and facilities to identify and tackle key scientific hurdles, while leaning on LLNL's historical expertise to support the development of infrastructure, supply chain and talent. Looking ahead, LIFT intends to build on this partnership to establish new mechanisms for collaboration with private industry and advance foundational capabilities for fusion energy.