Where we are
0.73 on the scale
The world used a record 600 exajoules of energy in 2025, up 1.7% in a year. That works out to about 19 trillion watts.
Source: Energy Institute
The progress report
How far up the scale?
Kardashev II tracks humanity's real progress toward a star-powered civilization: the energy we use, and the fusion, solar and launch milestones that move the number. Figures and sources, with no hype.
The numbers · updated November 2026
Four figures worth watching
Each one links to where it came from, so you can check it yourself.
Fusion
4.1× target gain
In April 2025 a US laser lab got 8.6 megajoules of fusion energy from 2.08 megajoules delivered to the fuel. Running the lasers still takes far more than comes out.
Source: Lawrence Livermore
Solar
3 TW installed
Solar panels worldwide passed three terawatts of capacity in early 2026, three times the total of four years before. Solar now supplies about 9% of the world's electricity.
Source: SolarPower Europe
Launch cost, cited
$2,720 per kilogram
A 2018 NASA paper by Harry Jones put SpaceX's Falcon 9 at $2,720 per kilogram to low Earth orbit, from the then-advertised $62 million to lift 22,800 kg. The same paper notes the rocket's first flight in 2010. We do not quote a price for later vehicles unless a published figure is in hand.
Timeline
How we got to 0.73
The ideas, then the milestones.
- 1960An astronomer argues that a sufficiently advanced civilization would surround its star with energy collectors.
- 1964Nikolai Kardashev proposes ranking civilizations by the power they use: planet, star, galaxy.
- 1973Carl Sagan turns the three types into a decimal scale and places humanity near 0.7.
- 2015SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 first stage after an orbital launch, the first time a booster from an orbital flight had done so.
- 2022A fusion shot releases more energy than the lasers delivered to the fuel: 3.15 megajoules from 2.05.
- 2025Fusion target gain passes four. World energy use passes 600 exajoules a year.
- 2026Installed solar passes three terawatts, according to SolarPower Europe.
Sources
Where the numbers come from
We earn nothing from these. They are the primary sources behind this page, plus places that report on energy and launch.
- Energy Institute The annual Statistical Review of World Energy.
- National Ignition Facility Fusion experiment results from Lawrence Livermore.
- SolarPower Europe The Global Solar Market Outlook.
- Our World in Data Long-run energy charts you can explore.
- NASA Technical Reports Server The 2018 Jones paper we use for the Falcon 9 cost figure.
- CSIS, cost of launch to LEO A compilation of launch cost per kilogram, also republished by Our World in Data.
- NASA Civil space flight and the public reports this site can cite.
- NASASpaceflight Reporting on vehicles, tests, and flight rates.
- SpaceX Builder of Falcon 9, the rocket in the cited cost figure.
- Blue Origin Another commercial launch provider.
- ESA Europe's civil space agency.
- JPL NASA's jet propulsion laboratory.
Guides
Longer reads
Plain-language pages that go further than the sketches on this home page.
Guide
How to read world energy numbers
World energy reports mix exajoules, watts, electricity, and fuels. Here is how to read a yearly total without mixing those up.
Guide
How we measure civilizations
The Kardashev scale is a score for energy use, not a moral grade. Here is how the measurement works, and what it leaves out.
Guide
Solar capacity and the electricity mix
Solar panels passed three terawatts of capacity in early 2026 and supply about 9% of world electricity. Here is what those figures mean, and what they do not.
Guide
What fusion gain means
Fusion "gain" compares energy out of a fuel capsule with energy delivered to it. It is a real milestone, and it is not a power station.
Guide
Why reaching orbit still matters
A 2018 NASA paper put SpaceX's Falcon 9 at $2,720 per kilogram to low Earth orbit. Cheap access to space is still a missing piece of any star-scale plan.
The bigger story
The score for the whole climb
Our sites explain the climb to a Type II civilization, one part each. This one keeps count.
01 · Type 2 CivilizationThe GoalEnergy and the Kardashev scale
02 · Robot MotionThe HandsRobots that do the building
03 · Sentient CloudThe MindArtificial intelligence that runs it
04 · ComingThe PlaceLaunch, the Moon and beyond
05 · ComingThe PeopleLiving long enough to see it
You are hereThe ScoreLive numbers and milestones
A couple of shops
Places to start, if you want them
These are ordinary links, not a storefront. We do not earn a commission from them. If that changes, we will say so next to the link and on our affiliate disclosure page. These are shops, not reviews, and not a claim that we bought or tested the goods.
- High Point Scientific A large U.S. retailer of telescopes and astronomy gear.
- NASASpaceflight Shop Patches, pins, shirts, and collectibles from the reporting site.