Commonwealth Fusion Systems Raises $1.8 Billion in Funding to Commercialize Fusion Energy

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Dec 01, 2021, 07:00 ET

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced it has closed on more than $1.8 billion in Series B funding to commercialize fusion energy. This includes capital to construct, commission, and operate SPARC, the world's first commercially relevant net energy fusion machine. In addition, it will enable the company to begin work on ARC, the first commercial fusion power plant, which includes developing support technologies, advancing the design, identifying the site, and assembling the partners and customers for the future of fusion power.

The round was led by Tiger Global Management with participation by new investors, including (in alphabetical order) Bill Gates; Coatue; DFJ Growth; Emerson Collective; Footprint Coalition; Google; JIMCO Technology Fund, part of JIMCO, the Jameel Family's global investment arm; John Doerr; JS Capital; Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures; Senator Investment Group; a major university endowment; and a pension plan; as well as current investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures; The Engine; Eni; Equinor Ventures; Fine Structure Ventures; Future Ventures; Hostplus; Khosla Ventures; Lowercarbon; Moore Strategic Ventures; Safar Partners; Schooner Capital; Soros Fund Management LLC; Starlight Ventures; Temasek; and others committed to the commercialization of fusion energy to mitigate climate change.

CFS's path to commercial fusion energy:

2018: Company founded based on decades of MIT fusion research
2020: Published a series of peer reviewed publications in the Journal of Plasma Physics that verifies SPARC will achieve net energy from fusion
2021: Started construction on campus that will host the SPARC building, a manufacturing facility, and company headquarters
2021: In collaboration with MIT, built and successfully demonstrated groundbreaking high temperature superconducting magnets, the strongest of their kind and the key technology to unlock commercial fusion energy
2025: SPARC achieves commercially relevant net energy from fusion
Early 2030s: First fusion power plant, called ARC, is completed

"The world is ready to make big investments in commercial fusion as a key part of the global energy transition. This diverse group of investors includes a spectrum of capital from energy and technology companies to venture capitalists, hedge funds, and university endowments that believe in fusion as a large-scale solution to decarbonize the planet," said CFS CEO Bob Mumgaard.

"From the very beginning, we have strongly believed that this technology could be a breakthrough on the path to producing net zero energy. Magnetic fusion can significantly increase the pace at which the world cuts its carbon emissions. We have worked with the CFS team for these last years because we recognized that their work could transform the energy landscape. Thanks to their monumental breakthroughs, a commercial fusion plant is soon going to be within reach. We're proud to be backing the company with significant new investment together with project management and engineering expertise to make that prospect a reality," said Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni.

"We are thrilled to be a major investor in CFS which is working on a technological solution to one of the world's most pressing problems. We have been longtime supporters of MIT where we've helped incubate these types of emerging technologies that will have a massive global impact for our sustainable future," said Fady Jameel, a member of the Jameel Family's Investment Supervisory Board.

"We've followed developments in fusion energy for years, anxious to find a practical approach that can achieve net positive energy generation. The team at CFS has finally done it, breaking through longstanding technological barriers with an innovative design that promises to provide a safe, sustainable, and scalable source of clean fusion power. We are beyond excited to join Bob and his team at CFS to help power the future of our planet," said Randy Glein, partner, DFJ Growth.

"Economical fusion power would deliver massive benefits to the world, enabling us to avoid dangerous climate change while allowing everyone to have a high standard of living. CFS is working to achieve fusion at this scale and they have the technology that gives us a path to commercialization in the next decade," said Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

"Fusion is the kind of innovation that can help fill the gaps in grids and put an end to fossil fuels. CFS is a company that executes - making possible what seemed impossible, one technical milestone at a time," said John Doerr, Chair of Kleiner Perkins and author of Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now.

CFS has raised more than $2 billion in funding since it was founded in 2018.

About CFS
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy.

CFS is collaborating with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with new groundbreaking high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. The mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. CFS has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by the world's leading investors, CFS is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change.

Contact: Kristen Cullen
[email protected]

SOURCE Commonwealth Fusion Systems