MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) plans to build the world’s first grid-scale fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
The company said that it expects the 400MW 'ARC' power plant to come online in the early 2030s. The plant will be built at the James River Industrial Park outside of Richmond through a nonfinancial collaboration with Dominion Energy Virginia.
Nuclear fusion, the same process that powers the sun, could theoretically provide abundant zero-emissions electricity without the risk of nuclear accidents as present in nuclear fission.
Fusion can also generate electricity from abundant fuels like hydrogen and lithium isotopes, which can be sourced from seawater, and do not create emissions or toxic waste.
However, fusion has long remained out of humanity's grasp, despite research beginning in the 1940s. No system has reached net power, although Lawrence Livermore researchers have achieved net energy gains in a fusion ignition breakthrough.
Founded in 2018, Commonwealth has raised more than $2 billion to bring its approach to fusion to the market. In 2027, in collaboration with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, it hopes to build SPARC, a smaller test system.
Should it work, it would be the world’s first fusion device that produces plasmas which generate more energy than they consume. However, this unprecedented milestone will need to be reached before ARC can be considered.
“This is a historic moment. In the early 2030s, all eyes will be on the Richmond region and more specifically Chesterfield County, Virginia, as the birthplace of commercial fusion energy,” said Bob Mumgaard, CEO and co-founder of Commonwealth.
“Virginia emerged as a strong partner as they look to implement innovative solutions for both reliable electricity and clean forms of power. We are pleased to collaborate with Dominion Energy.”
Edward H. Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, added: “Commonwealth Fusion Systems is the clear industry leader in advancing the exciting energy potential of fusion.
"Our customers’ growing needs for reliable, carbon-free power benefits from as diverse a menu of power generation options as possible, and in that spirit, we are delighted to assist CFS in their efforts.”
Earlier this month, a Virginia state report warned that unconstrained data center growth would make it “very difficult” to scale the power generation and transmission infrastructure needed to support the sector. Virginia is the world's largest data center hotspot.
As data centers grow larger with AI demands, the grid across the US and the world is struggling to keep up. Several fusion companies have pitched the currently unproven technology as a way to maintain growth.
OpenAI is looking to buy nuclear fusion energy from Helion from 2028. Sam Altman, CEO of the generative AI startup, has also invested $375m in the business. Microsoft has similarly signed a 50MW PPA with the company.