ImpactAlpha, July 20 — You think it’s hot out? Fusion energy startup TAE Technologies announced it was able to sustain plasma at temperatures of 75 million degrees Celsius.
The Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based company spun that breakthrough into a $250 million “G-2” equity round from investors including Chevron Technology Ventures, Google, Reimagined Ventures, Sumitomo Corp. and TIFF Investment Management.
TAE will use the funding to construct its Copernicus research reactor in Irvine, Calif., using a “field-reversed configuration.”
Net energy
After years of unfulfilled hopes fusion technology finally appears poised to generate commercial, carbon-free energy – in about 10 years. The acid test: generating more energy than it takes to spark a reaction, or net-energy.
Fusion startups have raised billions in recent years to build demonstration plants and prove their technology. M.I.T. spin-off Commonwealth Fusion Systems raised $1.8 billion last December.
