Twelve Japanese Companies Invest in U.S. Firm CFS to Accelerate Fusion Commercialization

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Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a U.S. startup aiming to commercialize fusion power, announced on September 3 that it has raised USD 863 million (about JPY 120 billion) from a consortium of 12 Japanese companies—Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Corporation, Kansai Electric Power, JERA, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, JGC Holdings, Development Bank of Japan, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), Fujikura, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, and Mitsui Fudosan. A press conference was held in Tokyo, attended by executives from the consortium companies as well as officials from the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

CFS, spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is a leading developer of tokamak-based fusion energy systems. The company has unveiled plans to build the world’s first commercial fusion power plant, the “ARC” facility, in the state of Virginia, with operations targeted for the early 2030s.

In June this year, Google signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with CFS, drawing attention for committing to procure half of the ARC plant’s 400-MWe output.

Since its founding in 2018, CFS has raised more than USD 2 billion (about JPY 300 billion). With the latest investment and technology collaboration from the Japanese consortium, the company intends to further accelerate development. For the participating Japanese companies, the investment is expected to provide valuable expertise in the fusion field and help advance the early realization of fusion energy in Japan.