The new year 2023 arrives with promising developments in fusion research. In December, scientists at the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) focused 2.05 megajoules of laser light onto a capsule of fusion fuel and produced 3.15 megajoules of energy. This was the first laser-driven fusion demonstration in which the reaction produced more energy than the laser light used to start it-a goal set for NIF at its founding. Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Anne White, who was not involved in the work, described it to Science as "a major breakthrough." After a year of ups and downs in science policy and research, this was the kind of exciting event needed to propel scientists into the promises of 2023.