Commonwealth Fusion Systems raises $863m for grid

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has raised $863 million in a Series B2 funding round to expedite the commercialisation of fusion energy. The company plans to utilise the capital to finalise its fusion demonstration machine, currently under construction in Massachusetts, and to progress development on its first grid-scale fusion power plant in Virginia. CFS intends to connect this plant to the grid in the early 2030s, with strategic partnerships from Dominion Energy and Google, who have agreed to purchase half of the plant’s output.

Fusion, the process of merging two atoms to form a single atom, is often referred to as the “Holy Grail” of clean energy due to its potential to generate power from hydrogen without carbon emissions or the high-level radioactive waste associated with nuclear fission. Founded in 2018 from MIT, CFS is striving to create the world’s first net-energy positive fusion device. In collaboration with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, CFS is developing SPARC, a demonstration machine employing a “tokamak” design. This design uses high-temperature superconductor magnets in a donut shape to confine and control plasma, creating conditions conducive to fusion.

SPARC is expected to precede CFS’s first commercial plant, ARC, to be located in Chesterfield, Virginia. CFS anticipates ARC to be the world’s first grid-scale fusion power plant.

Ally Yost, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at CFS, highlighted the investment opportunity presented by CFS, stating that fusion power promises energy independence and security, potentially expanding energy access and improving quality of life.

This funding round follows a recent agreement between CFS and Google, which includes an investment by Google and the largest-ever corporate offtake agreement for fusion energy. The round also welcomed new investors such as Brevan Howard Macro Venture Fund, Morgan Stanley’s Counterpoint Global, and NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, NVentures, alongside a consortium of 12 Japanese companies led by Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and the Development Bank of Japan. Existing investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Google, and Eni, also increased their stakes.

Carmichael Roberts, Managing Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, emphasised the transformative potential of achieving commercial fusion power, which would provide clean, limitless energy to strengthen energy security and improve global living standards.

With this latest funding round, following CFS’s $1.8 billion fundraise in 2021, the company’s total funding now approaches $3 billion, representing about one-third of all private investment in the global fusion sector. Bob Mumgaard, CEO and Co-Founder of CFS, expressed confidence in CFS’s progress, stating that this funding acknowledges the company’s leadership in developing a reliable source of clean, nearly limitless energy and offers investors the chance to participate in the emergence of a new global industry.