Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and Business Development Bank of Canada have each invested CAD10 million (USD7.3 million) in General Fusion, a Canadian private fusion developer.
This substantial investment will empower General Fusion to continue developing its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology, aiming to provide clean fusion energy to the grid by the early to mid-2030s.
Additional Investors and LM26 Program
Alongside these lead investments, the first closing of this financing round also included investments from Hatch, a Canadian consultancy firm specializing in mining, energy, and infrastructure, and other company shareholders.
The total public and private investment in General Fusion’s LM26 program now surpasses CAD71 million since its inception in 2023.
Accelerating Towards Commercialization
General Fusion is actively advancing its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) demonstration program in Richmond, British Columbia.
This machine is engineered to achieve two pivotal milestones for fusion energy: temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius (10 keV) and scientific breakeven equivalent, utilizing the company’s MTF technology.
Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) Technology
General Fusion’s MTF approach involves injecting hydrogen plasma into a liquid metal sphere, where compression and heating induce fusion.
The heat generated from the fusion of hydrogen atoms is then transferred to the liquid metal.
This method enables the creation of fusion conditions in short pulses, circumventing the need for expensive superconducting magnets or high-powered lasers, which are common challenges in other approaches.
Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP)
General Fusion intends to construct its Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP) at the UKAEA’s Culham Campus near Oxford, England. The FDP, a 70%-scaled version of the commercial pilot plant, will serve to validate the viability of MTF technology but won’t produce power.
While the FDP will cycle one plasma pulse per day using deuterium fuel, the commercial pilot plant will utilize deuterium-tritium fuel and cycle up to one plasma pulse per second.
Commissioning of the FDP is anticipated in 2026, with full operation expected by early 2027.
CNL and General Fusion Collaboration
CNL and General Fusion have a history of collaboration, including the analysis of tritium breeding technologies and tritium management facilities, critical for fusion fuel.
More recently, they’ve worked together on research related to the fusion machine, balance of plant, and power conversion system for General Fusion’s MTF machine design.
CNL’s Vision for Fusion Energy
CNL President and CEO, Jack Craig, emphasized the shared vision of CNL and General Fusion: “to unlock fusion’s tremendous potential as a transformative, clean energy future in Canada in order to fight climate change and maintain our energy security.”
US Department of Energy Awards
Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced USD4.6 million in awards to 17 US businesses through the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program.
INFUSE Program’s Objective
The INFUSE program aims to expedite fusion energy development in the private sector by fostering collaboration between businesses, national laboratories, and universities.
The overarching goal is to address the nation’s energy, environmental, and security needs by accelerating foundational research and promoting cost-effective, innovative fusion technologies.
Funded Projects and Selection Process
The 17 selected projects focus on research in materials science, modeling and simulation, and enabling technologies to support the development of economical fusion energy.
These projects were chosen through a competitive peer review process managed by the INFUSE leadership team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.