Fusion Energy
Limitless clean energy from the power of stars
Nuclear fusion promises virtually unlimited clean energy by replicating the process that powers the sun. After decades of government-led research, a wave of private companies are racing to build commercially viable fusion reactors.
Why It Matters
Fusion could fundamentally solve the energy crisis. Unlike fission, fusion produces no long-lived radioactive waste and uses hydrogen isotopes abundantly available in seawater. A single glass of fusion fuel contains as much energy as a million gallons of oil. The recent milestone of achieving ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in 2022 proved the physics works — now it's an engineering challenge. Private fusion companies have attracted over $6 billion in investment, and the first grid-connected fusion plants are targeted for the early 2030s.
Key Metrics
Market Size
$40B+ by 2040
Timeline to Impact
2030–2035 for first commercial plants
Maturity Stage
Emerging
Key Challenges
Sustaining plasma at 100+ million degrees for extended periods
Developing materials that can withstand extreme neutron bombardment
Achieving net energy gain consistently (Q > 10)
Scaling from experimental reactors to grid-scale power plants
Regulatory frameworks for fusion (distinct from fission)
Companies in Fusion Energy
6 trackedCommonwealth Fusion Systems
Series B ($2B+ raised)
MIT spinoff building the SPARC tokamak, the world's first net-energy fusion device. Their breakthrough high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets enable smaller, cheaper reactors. Backed by Bill Gates, Google, and Tiger Global.
Demonstrated record-breaking 20-tesla HTS magnet in 2021, a key enabler for compact fusion
Helion Energy
Series E ($500M from Sam Altman)
Building a pulsed fusion system that directly converts fusion energy to electricity without steam turbines. Signed the world's first fusion power purchase agreement with Microsoft for 2028 delivery.
First private company to reach 100 million °C plasma temperatures; Microsoft PPA signed for 2028
TAE Technologies
Series G ($1.2B+ raised)
Pursuing hydrogen-boron (p-B11) fusion using field-reversed configuration — a fuel cycle that produces no neutrons and thus no radioactive waste. The 'holy grail' of fusion fuels.
Achieved sustained plasma at 75 million °C in their Copernicus reactor; targeting commercial reactor by early 2030s
General Fusion
Series E ($400M+ raised)
Canadian company using magnetized target fusion — compressing plasma with pistons in liquid metal. Building a demonstration plant in the UK with support from Jeff Bezos.
Construction of Fusion Demonstration Plant at UKAEA Culham campus underway
Zap Energy
Series C ($200M+ raised)
Uses sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinch — a radically simpler approach that doesn't require expensive magnets or lasers. If it works, it could be the cheapest path to fusion.
Achieved fusion neutron production in their FuZE-Q device, validating the Z-pinch approach
Type One Energy
Series B ($100M+)
Building stellarator-based fusion reactors — a design that can run in steady-state (unlike pulsed tokamaks). Uses advanced 3D-printing and HTS magnets for the complex stellarator geometry.
Secured DOE milestone-based fusion program funding; stellarator design validated computationally
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