
IPFS News Link • Energy
General Fusion Raised US$130 Million for Demo Nuclear Fusion Plant Around 2025
• https://www.nextbigfuture.com, by Brian WangThe Series E funding round included the Business Development Bank of Canada, the hedge fund Segra Capital Management and several family-office investors.
General Fusion designs from the ground up to enable a practical, commercially-viable power plant. Electricity is generated from the fusion plant by pumping hot liquid metal through a heat exchanger to heat water, which then turns a steam turbine. General Fusion power plants will also be modular, allowing multiple units to energize large cities or heavy industry.
The key components of a Magnetized Target Fusion power plant are the plasma injectors, pistons and liquid metal vortex. Currently, General Fusion is developing and optimizing these components in parallel to accelerate construction of a demonstration power plant.
General Fusion was founded in 2002 with a goal to transform the world's energy supply by developing the fastest, most practical, and cost-competitive path to commercial fusion power.
In 2006, Dr. Michel Laberge completed proof-of-principle experiments, and with the support of leading venture capital firms, General Fusion began building a team that today is recognized as a global leader in commercial fusion energy. The company has now grown to a team of more than 100 at its world class laboratories in Burnaby, just outside Vancouver, where it is developing the key components of the world's first fusion power plant.
General Fusion hopes to have a large scale demo plant by 2025 and a commercial fusion system around 2030. The timelines slipped over the decades.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and General Fusion will build and operate its Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP) at UKAEA's Culham Campus. The FDP will demonstrate General Fusion's proprietary Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology. Construction starts 2022.