TAE Technologies secures $150M in funding to advance fusion power development

TAE Technologies, a California-based fusion energy startup, announced it has raised $150 million in a new funding round. Key participants include Google, Chevron, and New Enterprise Associates, all of whom have invested in TAE before. This marks the company’s 12th funding round, bringing its total raised capital to approximately $1.8 billion, making it one of the most heavily funded fusion startups globally.

Founded nearly 30 years ago and previously operating under the name Tri Alpha Energy, TAE developed a unique fusion reactor design. Initially, its process involved firing two plasma balls that merged and stabilized into a plasma configuration shaped like a hollow cigar. More recently, TAE revealed that it has eliminated the need for the dual plasma injection. The company can now form, heat, and stabilize plasma solely with particle beams, streamlining the reactor’s design and operation.

Google has not only invested financially but has collaborated with TAE since 2014 to apply machine learning for optimizing reactor settings. This reduced experimental time from months to hours. Currently, TAE’s reactor achieves temperatures of 70 million degrees Celsius, with commercial goals targeting 1 billion degrees. The company plans to bring fusion-generated electricity to the grid by the early 2030s and aims to raise an additional $50 million by the end of the summer.