DREAMS of nuclear fusion have captured investors’ attention in recent years, spurring a boom in private funding driven by technological breakthroughs, new federal financing and the promise of cheap, abundant energy.
Deep-pocketed optimists such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel and Sam Altman have all channelled resources into nuclear research at different companies. But industry experts say producing commercially viable fusion will require another decade or two of work.
That delay could benefit Fuse Energy Technologies. The company, which has raised US$32 million in a new funding round, is building technology to help nuclear fusion upstarts and the government test the effects of radiation. Investors valued Fuse at more than US$200 million in the deal, said founder and chief executive officer JC Btaiche.
Fuse is building pulsed-power machines that create radiation to study nuclear effects and renting them to private companies, the US Air Force and other government agencies. Labs run by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) are currently its largest customer.
“We want Fuse to become to the NNSA what SpaceX has become to Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). That’s our objective now and that’s what the investors are underwriting on,” Btaiche said.
Investors in the startup’s latest round include Buckley Ventures, Tamarack Global, Bracket Capital, and individuals including former NNSA administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty and former Lockheed Martin Asia chief executive Doug Greenlaw. The venture company of musical group the Chainsmokers, Mantis, also participated.
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Fuse will use the cash infusion to double its headcount to more than 60 people over the next year, and build larger machines while also working to achieve nuclear fusion itself. The company plans to use data and revenue from its testing business to guide its own long-term efforts to build a fusion generator.
In August, Fuse opened a new headquarters across the Bay from Silicon Valley in San Leandro, California, where it also plans to build its next generation of radiation machines.
Btaiche founded Fuse in Montreal in 2019 when he was 19 years old, and attracted respected nuclear scientist Vahid Damideh of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and former Pentagon official Laura Thomas to the team.
Thomas, who recently became chief strategy officer at Fuse, is also an investor. The startup previously picked up US$20 million in funding from investors.
Nuclear fusion research hit a key milestone in 2022, when scientists were able to generate net energy for the first time. But the technology remains far from commercial viability and has faced recent headwinds. That includes a reboot of the world’s biggest fusion experiment, which has also seen major cost overruns, and over concerns about whether an Altman-backed startup can meet key deadlines.
Btaiche said the long scheduling delays for groups trying to test nuclear effects on systems has stymied innovation and created an opportunity for Fuse to provide it instead.
Earlier this summer, the startup signed a cooperative research and development agreement with Sandia National Laboratories, which helps steward America’s nuclear arsenal.
Fuse has built three pulsed-power generators to date. Last month, it won an award worth about US$1.3 million from the US Air Force to build a new prototype it developed in collaboration with the US Air Force Nuclear Weapons Centre and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission granted Fuse a licence to operate in 2022. Fuse said it is working with US authorities now to get licensed to operate its new California facility.
Silicon Valley companies have recently deepened ties to Washington in areas from energy to defence. Sometimes that makes for unlikely pairings.
Its website looks more like that of a startup than a staid government contractor’s. Its core values include: “Go fast. Break things” and “Never stop hacking”.
Btaiche said Fuse is committed to pushing boundaries safely.
“Opportunity is directly tied to risk and the amount you’re willing to take,” he said. “We have to be at the cutting edge of technology, trying things that don’t work out as long as they’re safe.” BLOOMBERG
