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Startup Raises $1.8 Billion in Bid to Generate Fusion Nuclear Energy Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has raised more than $1.8 billion, the largest private investment in the nuclear fusion industry as more investors pour money into energy projects that claim limitless energy with no or minimal wastage.

By The Epoch Times

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Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has raised more than $1.8 billion, the largest private investment in the nuclear fusion industry as more investors pour money into energy projects that claim limitless energy with no or minimal wastage.

Founded in 2017, CFS is based out of Cambridge, MA, and plans to deploy the capital to "construct, commission, and operate SPARC, the world's first commercially relevant net energy fusion machine," according to a company press release, and thereby, commercialize fusion energy. Besides SPARC, CFS will begin working on a nuclear fusion power plant using the funds.

The latest round was led by Tiger Global Management and other investors include Bill Gates, Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures, Soros Fund Management, the Jameel Family, Italian energy company Eni, Temasek, and a variety of other partners keen on seeing the viability of the technology and the potential it holds to change global energy consumption.

This year, alongside partner MIT, CFS has built and successfully demonstrated high-temperature superconducting magnets which are key to unlocking fusion energy to be used for commercial purposes. SPARC is expected to be commercially viable in 2025 when net energy is derived from the revolutionary machine, that is, more energy output than what had been put in. The power plant, ARC, is scheduled to be completed in the early 2030s.

"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," said Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni.

Some of the company's competitors, like Washington-based Helion Energy, have also secured significant funding. Helion had raised $500 million in early November, and investors have promised more funds as the company reaches specific performance milestones. Canada's General Fusion raised around $130 million this week.

However, there are many skeptics of the technology. The main reason is that, despite claims, no one has actually been able to generate net energy through nuclear fusion. Startups must be able to produce more energy than what has been used to create the nuclear reaction, which is extremely difficult. And then, go on to the next step of building power plants to deliver the electricity through the grid.

"Everything is science fiction until someone does it and then all of a sudden it goes from impossible to inevitable," said Bob Mumgaard, Co-Founder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion, as reported in WSJ.

The technology is being touted by proponents as the ultimate solution to the global energy crisis. Fusion experts urged Congress at a recent House Science Committee hearing to invest in fusion-based power plants in the country.

By Naveen Athrappully

The Epoch Times, founded in 2000, is headquartered in Manhattan, New York, with a mission to provide independent and accurate information free of political bias or corporate influence. The organization was established in response to censorship within China and a lack of global awareness regarding the Chinese regime's repression of the spiritual practice Falun Gong.

The Epoch Times is a widely read newspaper that is distributed in 33 countries and is available in 21 languages. The publication has been critical in providing balanced and detailed reporting on major global events such as the 2003 SARS pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis. Notably, the organization has played a key role in exposing corruption inside China.

Aside from its human rights coverage, The Epoch Times has made significant contributions in a variety of fields. It has received praise for its in-depth analysis and expert perspectives on business, the economy and U.S. politics. The newspaper has also received praise for its broad coverage of these topics.

A series of editorials titled "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" appeared in The Epoch Times in 2004. It asserts that freedom and prosperity in China can only be achieved by eliminating the Communist Party, which violated China's cultural and spiritual values. In addition, the organization led the Tuidang movement, which resulted in over 400 million Chinese citizens quitting the Communist Party. In spite of this, 90% of websites referring to the "Nine Commentaries" were blocked by the Chinese regime.

The Epoch Times has been at the forefront of investigating high-level corruption cases within the Chinese regime, with its reporters taking significant risks to uncover these stories. The organization has received several awards for its investigative journalism.

The organization has received several awards for its investigative journalism. For more, visit www.theepochtimes.com.

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