Latest news with #BobMumgaard
Bloomberg
8 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Google Bets on Fusion Energy
Open Interest Commonwealth Fusion Systems will harness energy from the stars to power AI data centers. Bob Mumgaard, the company's CEO, says Google's investment in the company signals a greater demand for energy. (Source: Bloomberg)
Time Magazine
7 days ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
A Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough May Be Closer Than You Think
For long-time followers of fusion energy, Tokamak Hall is the high-water mark after decades of ups and downs. From an observation deck on the side, the surgically-clean, hospital-white room feels both like a cathedral and yet somehow too tiny for its lofty purpose. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the company building it, says the room will soon hold a tokamak, the central donut-shaped device necessary for one approach to nuclear fusion. In the tokamak, scientists will heat up deuterium and tritium to 100 million degrees Celsius and fuse them together—producing heat that can be converted to electricity in the process. But as impressive as Tokamak Hall may be, I left the company's campus more taken by the factory floor in the building next door. There, employees are hard at work manufacturing the company's key innovation: giant magnets made of high-temperature, superconducting tape to be used in the tokamak. The magnets keep the superheated fuel in place and stable enough for the fusion process to occur. In the facility, they're churning out magnets for the pilot project—and, eventually, to build a fleet of fusion power plants. It's a testament not just to fusion's technological potential but the commercial possibilities as well. 'The power industry is a very large market, and so you have, inherently, a huge potential for financial return,' Commonwealth Fusion Systems CEO Bob Mumgaard told me after my tour in March. 'If you built something that can produce 1% of energy, you've built the largest company in the world.' The U.S. energy system is in the middle of an all-out revolution. Growing electricity demand has contributed to a massive build out of any power source that utilities can get their hands on—often gas and solar power, typically the two cheapest options these days. Meanwhile, the country has cemented its place as a superpower in fossil fuel production. Fusion energy, which has for decades been considered as distant and almost like science fiction, has the potential to reshape all of these trends. And it could happen sooner than many energy practitioners realize. 'I think we are showing promise for being able to demonstrate fusion conditions in this decade, and this decade has only five years left,' says Ernest Moniz, the former U.S. energy secretary who now serves on the board of TAE Technologies, a fusion company. 'Eventually, it could become the dominant source.' There's no question that the pathway to a grid dominated by fusion is long and windy. For decades, it's been dismissed as too fantastical to consider seriously. Yet, now, it increasingly looks like fusion may soon be commercial—and policymakers and business executives around the world have done little to prepare for the wide-reaching consequences. In February, a leading renewable energy trade group gathered industry luminaries for a summit on the future of the U.S. power sector. In the middle of the discussion, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler, now a partner at law firm Holland & Hart, rejected the possibility of fusion becoming commercial in the next 20 years. Even if there are advances, the regulatory process will take too long, he said. Moniz jumped in to correct: in 2023, federal authorities announced a streamlined process that will make fusion energy easier to deploy than old-school nuclear fission. 'Very few people know that that's already something in the cards,' Moniz told me later about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to regulate fusion reactors more like particle accelerators, which are inherently less risky than fission reactors. The decision was later solidified with a federal law. In casual chats with energy watchers over the last six months, I've had a version of the same conversation over and over again: a policymaker, investor, or academic rejects the possibility of commercial fusion but their opinion reflects outdated information or lacks awareness of the current state of the technology. There are good reasons for the misperceptions. Fusion first appeared on the energy sector's radar in the 1950s with a lot of hype. Nuclear weapons had proven the destructive power of nuclear technologies in World War II, and federal officials were keen to find ways to use nuclear energy—fusion and fission—to make vast amounts of electricity to power the post-war economy. In a 1953 speech at the United Nations, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower called for nuclear development as part of an 'atoms for peace' agenda. Scientists confidently predicted that they could make quick advances with fusion just as they had with fission. So, for decades, governments have funded a wide range of approaches and experiments aimed at advancing fusion power. Billions of dollars poured into research facilities like the Joint European Torus in England and the still-under-construction ITER project in France. Yet the technology has remained stubbornly elusive, with fusion reactions consuming more energy than they generated, leading to the running joke that fusion was always '20 years away.' By the 1990s, many in the energy industry had written off fusion as a scientific curiosity rather than a viable power source. In 2022, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California achieved a game-changing breakthrough: a fusion reaction that produced more energy than required to start it. Buoyed in part by that announcement, private companies and financiers have aggressively entered the race in recent years—flipping the fusion game on its head. For decades, fusion spending had primarily come from governments, leading to a vast body of knowledge about the technology but minimal pressure to commercialize. Private companies take a different approach, trying to make money as soon as possible with fast-paced, commercially-oriented innovation. Today, the Fusion Industry Association counts at least 45 private companies globally working to develop commercial fusion; in total those companies have raised more than $7 billion—largely from private backers. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is leading the pack. The company has raised over $2 billion—more than any competitor—and plans to put power on the grid in the early 2030s. The scientific press has paid significant attention to CFS's technological innovation: using a high-temperature super conducting tape that can create strong magnetic fields. But the company's success is the result of a combination of that technical innovation and a focus on commercial speed. To get past labor shortages, its leaders have hired from a cross section of related fields rather than focusing solely on PhD physicists. And it has adapted its blue prints and supply chains to accommodate easily adaptable products that are already on the market rather than trying to build from scratch. 'We wanted to make the technology work as soon as possible,' says Brandon Sorbom, the company's chief science officer. 'Everything else is subordinate to that.' The company's SPARC facility—where I visited the under-construction tokamak—is scheduled to deliver first net energy production in 2027. Late last year, the company said it would build its first commercial power plant in Virginia with the goal of delivering power to the grid in the early 2030s. Assuming CFS's plant works as planned, a big question remains unanswered: how much will the electricity it produces cost? In theory, the economics of successful fusion should be favorable. The fuel sources—tritium and deuterium—come from easily accessible sources, namely seawater and lithium, and should be cheap to produce compared to fossil fuels. Like many renewable energy sources, the main cost will come from financing the necessary infrastructure. And, while the executives at CFS are exceedingly confident that their approach to fusion will put electrons on the grid, they are less certain about how the cost will first pencil out. At $100 per megawatt hour they anticipate good business; at $50 per megawatt hour fusion takes over the world. 'What becomes interesting is if you get fusion soon to a power price that's relatively competitive, but you have a path to something that's really competitive,' says Rick Needham, the company's chief commercial officer. Until the plant enters operation, it's hard to know where the numbers will fall. But we do know that costs tend to decrease over time with any technology as builders become more knowledgeable and efficient. The question is who will put up the money to make it happen? To scale, CFS and its competitors will need to raise billions more to finance individual projects—knowing that returns for early investments will not be as good as they might come to be in the future. Fusion has perhaps received the most attention—and increasingly sourced its capital—from the so-called hyperscalers, big tech companies looking wherever they can to find power sources for their A.I. data centers. And both Microsoft and Google have reached agreements to buy fusion power when plants are up in running, including a June deal between Google and CFS. 'The hyperscalers, and any energy-intensive sort of industrial user of power, are starting to wake up,' says Michl Binderbauer, the CEO of nuclear fusion company TAE Technologies, which counts Google as investor. Whether these big tech players will open their wallets to finance the build out remains to be seen, even as the early signs are encouraging. It's easy to be drawn in by the utopian vision of what fusion energy can do for the world. Fully realized, the technology can provide cheap, infinite clean energy across the globe. Given how energy, and fossil fuels in particular, shapes geopolitics, proponents of fusion say the power source could alleviate conflict and create a more peaceful world. And it would dramatically aid the fight against climate change—not just transforming today's power sector but leading to a rethink of how we use energy in industry and transportation. But technological shifts are rarely so simple. New energy sources have historically disrupted existing power structures, created winners and losers, and generated unforeseen consequences that ripple across industries and nations. Indeed, one place where people are paying attention is in China, which is racing to build its own state-backed fusion companies. If China does a better job of commercializing fusion, it would significantly alter geopolitical dynamics. 'China is a country of extraordinary initiative. In domain after domain, China invests early,' Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is also the vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, told me at a fusion event in February. Even for those who are paying attention to fusion, it remains almost impossible to plan for its commercial emergence. Demand for electricity is rising everywhere, including the U.S., and utilities need to ensure that the grid is well supplied with technologies that exist today. For an industry that plans in decades-long time scales, the timing is challenging. Many places, including the U.S., are experiencing a surge in demand—and will build a whole lot of energy infrastructure—just before commercial fusion, potentially, comes online. That timing could prove costly. Power plants built in the next decade might become stranded assets if cheap fusion electricity arrives. Grid infrastructure designed for today's energy mix may need expensive retrofitting. And regulatory frameworks built around fossil fuels and traditional renewables will require fundamental rethinking. 'The downside is that it's not here right now,' says Needham. But in energy markets, there is a fine line between a technology being too futuristic and becoming the next big thing. We may be approaching that line now. This story is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. TIME is solely responsible for the content.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Google to buy 200MW of fusion energy from MIT spinoff CFS
Google has announced its first commercial commitment to fusion, agreeing to purchase 200MW of power from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a company spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The electricity will come from CFS's inaugural ARC power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia, which CFS describes as the world's first grid-scale fusion facility. The facility is expected to contribute to the grid in the early 2030s. Google also holds an option to source energy from future ARC plants. ARC aims to generate 400MW of net electricity comparable with utility-scale natural gas plants. Google's investment in CFS since 2021 is set to deepen as it increases its stake in the company. However, financial details remain undisclosed. CFS CEO and co-founder Bob Mumgaard stated: 'Fusion power is within our grasp thanks in part to forward-thinking partners like Google, a recognised technology pioneer across industries. 'Our strategic deal with Google is the first of many as we move to demonstrate fusion energy from SPARC and then bring our first power plant online. We aim to demonstrate fusion's ability to provide reliable, abundant, clean energy at the scale needed to unlock economic growth and improve modern living – and enable what will be the largest market transition in history.' Fusion technology offers transformative potential due to its lack of fuel or natural resource constraints compared to other energy sources. By emulating the sun's energy production process in which smaller atoms such as hydrogen fuse together, it promises a consistent supply of clean energy capable of powering emerging industries, electrifying transport systems, homes and businesses, and supporting advanced computing needs such as AI applications. CFS' marquee fusion project, SPARC, will generate net energy, paving the way for limitless carbon-free energy. The company has raised more than $2bn in capital since its establishment in 2018. Devens, Massachusetts-based CFS is working with policymakers and suppliers to make fusion energy available worldwide. "Google to buy 200MW of fusion energy from MIT spinoff CFS" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Google strikes deal to buy fusion power from MIT spinoff Commonwealth
Alphabet's Google said on Monday it has struck a deal to buy power from a project in Virginia fuelled by fusion, the reaction that powers the sun and the stars but is not yet commercial on Earth. Google signed what it called the technology's first direct corporate power purchase agreement with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a company that spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018. The deal is for 200 megawatts of power from CFS' ARC project, which is planned to have a total capacity of 400 MW. The company is developing the project in Virginia, home to the world's biggest hub of energy-hungry data centres. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Physicists at national laboratories and companies have been trying for decades to use lasers or, in the case of CFS, large magnets to foster fusion reactions, in which light atoms are forced together to release large amounts of energy. In 2022, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California briefly achieved net energy gain in a fusion experiment using lasers. But achieving so-called "engineering break-even," in which more energy comes out of a reaction than the overall energy that goes into a fusion plant to get a reaction going, has been elusive. And for a plant to generate power from fusion, the reactions must be constant, not rare. "Yes, there are some serious physics and engineering challenges that we still have to work through to make it commercially viable and scalable," Michael Terrell, Google's head of advanced energy, told reporters in a call. "But that's something that we want to be investing in now to realize that future." As artificial intelligence and data centres boost power demand around the world, interest in fusion is spiking. Fusion, unlike nuclear fission, in which atoms are split, does not generate large amounts of radioactive waste. In addition, fusion, if successful, could help fight climate change. CFS aims to generate power from the ARC project in the early 2030s but must first clear the scientific hurdles. "Without partnership and without being bold and setting a goal and going for it, you won't ever reach over those challenges," Bob Mumgaard, CFS' CEO and co-founder, told reporters. He said the ARC plant will teach CFS about the "teething phase" of fusion, in which he expects to learn about how often fusion machines break down and how they can run reliably. Google also said on Monday it was increasing its investment in CFS, but did not disclose the amount. Google was one of many investors that invested a total of $1.8 billion into CFS in 2021. Mumgaard said the current fundraising efforts by CFS are comparable to the 2021 round.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Google goes ‘nuclear' as tech giant signs deal to power its data centres: What makes this agreement ‘special'
Representative image Google has announced a deal to purchase 200 megawatts (MW) of power from a fusion energy project in Virginia, a hub for energy-intensive data centers. The agreement is with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), an MIT spin-off. The power from CFS's ARC project is enough to power a small city. The financial specifics of the deal weren't disclosed. What makes Google's nuclear power deal 'one-of-a-kind' According to news agency Reuters, this deal marks the technology's first-ever direct corporate power purchase agreement. It is based on fusion, the same reaction that fuels the sun and stars. While fusion has been a scientific pursuit for decades—with physicists striving to create sustainable reactions using methods like powerful magnets, as employed by CFS, or lasers—achieving "engineering break-even," where a fusion plant produces more energy than it consumes, remains a significant challenge. "Yes, there are some serious physics and engineering challenges that we still have to work through to make it commercially viable and scalable. But that's something that we want to be investing in now to realize that future," admitted Michael Terrell, Google's head of advanced energy. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Confidence packed. Wrinkles left behind. Philips Garment Steamers Book Now Undo Tech giants looking at nuclear energy to power AI data centres However, the potential for clean, virtually limitless energy has ignited a surge of interest, especially as the global demand for power, driven by advancements in AI and data centers, continues to soar. Unlike nuclear fission, fusion promises to generate minimal radioactive waste and could play a crucial role in combating climate change. Meanwhile, CFS aims to begin generating power from its 400 MW ARC project in the early 2030s. CEO and co-founder Bob Mumgaard emphasized the importance of bold partnerships, stating, "Without partnership and without being bold and setting a goal and going for it, you won't ever reach over those challenges." AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
