Commonwealth Fusion inks nuclear tech deal with Tennessee firm

Photo | Courtesy of Commonwealth Fusion Systems Commonwealth Fusion Systems workers move equipment at the firm's Devens facility.

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By Eric Casey

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the Devens-based firm looking to make fusion energy commercially viable, has signed a deal with fellow fusion-focused firm Type One Energy to allow the Tennessee-based company to use CFS’ technology in the development of its own stellator fusion magnets.

The agreement will allow Type One Energy to access demonstrated technologies while expanding the market for CFS’ magnet business, according to a press release issued by CFS on Tuesday.

“At CFS, we are confident in our approach using magnetic confinement in tokamaks, but we also want to support companies pursuing other promising magnetic confinement applications given the scale necessary to address the urgent transition to fusion energy and the transformative nature of high-field magnets,” Bob Mumgaard, CEO and co-founder of CFS, said in the Tuesday press release.

Tokamaks and stellators are two different types of technology using magnets to stabilize plasma, a key aspect of capturing energy created by nuclear fusion. Tokamaks are better at keeping plasmas hot, but stellarators are more effective at keeping plasma stable, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Our agreement with CFS represents the best of cooperative relationships within the fusion industry,” Type One CEO Christofer Mowry said in the release. “We get unique access to leading manufacturing capabilities and the HTS cable background technology that our company would otherwise need to recreate, reducing risk, cost, and schedule in the development and delivery of our own stellarator fusion magnets.”

CFS completed what it said was a promising test of its magnetic technology in November, moving it one step closer to opening the world’s first commercial fusion reactor in Virginia, which the firm plans to do in the early 2030s.

Mumgaard spoke on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January about the potential role CFS’ technology could play in fighting climate change while highlighting the role the firm played in encouraging specific regulations for fusion energy operations in the United States.

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.