#31 Commonwealth Fusion Systems
The Tesla of clean energy
Read time: 4 minutes
Hi, I’m Javi Gascón.
This is Climate Tech Distillery, a newsletter where I talk about one specific climate tech company every week.
Subscribe for free to receive my weekly articles in your inbox.
Today we’ll distill a company that’s harnessing star power for limitless, clean energy: Commonwealth Fusion Systems 🇺🇸
Find a climate job with today’s sponsor:
ClimateTechList tracks 40K+ job openings at thousands of high-impact climate & clean tech companies so you can join them. Start here if you want to use your time and skills to fight climate change.
ClimateTechList also maintains a comprehensive hiring history database, showing company-level hiring trends over the past 2 years. This is valuable for investors conducting due diligence or sales professionals targeting climate companies.
Want to sponsor Climate Tech Distillery? Here’s all the info.
What Problem Does Commonwealth Fusion Systems Tackle❓
They work on the extremely difficult problem of achieving commercially viable fusion energy:
1. Energy Production: No fusion reactor has yet produced net energy, meaning the energy output has not exceeded the energy input.
2. Technical Complexity: Building a machine capable of sustaining the extreme conditions required for fusion reactions is highly complex. For instance, temperatures must exceed 100 million °C, and powerful magnetic fields are needed to contain the plasma.
3. Size and Cost: Traditional tokamaks (machines to fuse the atoms) are enormous and costly, making them impractical for commercial use. The ITER project, for example, has been delayed and is now expected to cost significantly more than its initial $22 billion estimate.
So yes, it’s very difficult to achieve commercial fusion energy. My article explaining fusion in simple terms is here :)
Product / Service 📦
CFS is developing a revolutionary fusion energy technology that promises to deliver limitless, clean, and cost-competitive energy. The key product is the SPARC device, the world's first commercially relevant net energy fusion demonstration machine, which will pave the way for the first commercial fusion power plant, ARC (early 2030s).
Why it’s awesome:
Fusion produces zero carbon emissions, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels.
It can provide very abundant energy, addressing global energy demands sustainably.
Unlike intermittent sources like solar and wind, fusion can run 24/7, offering reliable electricity.
The technology aims to be cost-competitive, potentially reducing energy costs for consumers.
Fusion is considered a safer power source compared to traditional nuclear power, as it does not produce long-lived radioactive waste.
CFS will change the global energy landscape, providing consumers with a reliable, sustainable, and clean power source.
Market 🌐
The global nuclear fusion market is projected to reach $491.55 billion by 2031. This expansion is fueled by advancements in fusion technologies, many fusion startups being created and increasing investments from both private and public sectors.
Other Key Players
Avalanche🇺🇸: They are developing economical micro fusion power packs the size of a lunch box.
Helion Energy🇺🇸: Focuses on pulsed fusion reactors, promising direct electricity generation from fusing plasma and targeting commercial sales by 2028.
Tokamak Energy🇬🇧: Works on making fusion power feasible at scale, leveraging tokamak technology for compact and efficient fusion reactors.
Founding Story 🦄
CFS was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Plasma Science and Fusion Center. The company's origins date back to around 2012 when its founders, including Bob Mumgaard, Brandon Sorbom and Dan Brunner were part of a class project at MIT. This project involved designing a fusion reactor concept that would eventually become the SPARC tokamak.
After government funding for the lab was cut off, the team realized they needed a new approach to commercialize fusion energy. They decided to form a private company, leveraging private investment to accelerate the development of fusion technology. Initial funding of $50 million from Eni in 2018 helped launch the company, followed by significant investments from other leading venture capital firms and investors.
Since day 1 the team has been working hard to create clean, limitless fusion power to combat climate change thanks to SPARC and ARC.
Top Impact Stats 📈
The emissions-free fuel used in CFS's fusion technology can release 10 million times more energy than the same weight of fossil fuel.
SPARC aims to be the first system to achieve net energy from magnetically confined fusion, a crucial step towards commercializing clean energy.
CFS's technology promises 24/7 scalable clean power, which can significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
Scale and optimize your climate business: I build low-code automation systems for climate companies so they can free up time to scale their revenues and their climate impact.
Give visibility to your climate company: Get your company in front of an audience of thousands of climate players and enthusiasts by sponsoring newsletter issues and LinkedIn posts.
Thanks for reading today’s issue! If you liked it feel free to hit the ❤️ button and share it with someone who might like it too. See you next Saturday :)