Commonwealth Fusion Systems

“We’re not just building a fusion power plant or company. We’re building a fusion power industry.” That’s what our Chief Commercial Officer Rick Needham had to say at the Tough Tech Summit in Boston about our work at CFS to upgrade the world’s power grid with clean, abundant energy. That’s most definitely a tough tech challenge, combining breakthrough science with multidisciplinary R&D and advanced engineering. But what Rick was talking about is building a broader movement beyond physicists and engineers. Others like universities, welders, suppliers, policymakers, and power companies also have a role to play. Even companies competing with CFS to deliver fusion energy are also our partners in building this industry. And when we build our first ARC power plant, that’s only the beginning of the journey. It’ll take many of them to tackle climate change. No one said tough tech was easy. Thanks to The Engine Accelerator for hosting an energizing conversation around fusion and our quest for energy abundance. #Energy #Climate #ToughTech

You might think we lured a UFO into Commonwealth Fusion Systems headquarters. But this overhead photo actually shows a big step we’ve taken toward building our first fusion energy machine, SPARC. This is our first superconducting magnet coil, packaged within a temporary D-shaped "briefcase" and nestled within the larger circular test stand. Around that are some of the hundreds of people at CFS and beyond who designed and built it all. It’s progress along our path to deliver fusion power to the grid in time to help fight climate change and meet rising energy demand. We’re gearing our manufacturing program to scale beyond SPARC to dozens, hundreds, then thousands of power plants afterward. Testing as we go means we learn what’s working and avoid surprises. Stay tuned for results! This type of magnetic coil is the foundation for our 18 toroidal field (TF) magnets that’ll help confine and control plasma within SPARC, the donut-shaped tokamak fusion machine we’re building right now. The test stand is called a cryostat: a chamber that cools the magnet down to the very cold temperature of 20 degrees above absolute zero. To keep it cold, we pump all the air out of the cryostat to form a vacuum. That’s like a really big version of a Thermos bottle that’ll keep your hot drinks hot or your cold drinks cold. This custom-built cryostat test stand, one of two on our magnet factory floor, ensures the magnet can handle the extremely high electrical currents we use to generate SPARC’s extremely strong magnetic fields. Work on this magnet started with research at MIT, continued through years of design and computer modeling, passed a major validation test in 2021. Now we're manufacturing them at our headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. Hundreds of people have had their actual or virtual hands on it. To make each TF magnet, we start with a D-shaped metal plate. Thousands of meters of high-temperature superconducting tape are carefully laid down into a spiral channel on the plate’s face. We then add copper caps and solder each plate to form a solid “pancake.” Sixteen pancakes are stacked up into a single coil. For this intermediate stage of the manufacturing and testing process, they’re housed inside a briefcase, but for use in SPARC, they’ll be welded into a steel case. Eighteen of those make up SPARC’s whole TF magnet system. Step by step, a big team of people is all pulling in the same direction to bring the world’s energy system into the future. #Fusion #Energy

Sorry, Molly Wood, we don’t have any “star in a bottle” T-shirts for you, but we hope our CEO Bob Mumgaard’s assessment of the fusion energy business was at least as valuable. This podcast from your recent fireside chat with Bob offers a great look at subjects like financing fusion startups, building a fusion ecosystem extending all the way to insurance companies, and the competition with China and other fusion companies. It’s a big realm to explore. Fusion’s potential to modernize the energy industry extends far beyond lighting our homes and charging our cars. The limitless, clean, and consistent energy provided by fusion could desalinate water and decarbonize heavy industries like steel and cement production. If you want to fully appreciate fusion energy, you can move beyond the gee-whiz physics and start learning deeper details with this podcast. https://lnkd.in/e969ynQv #Fusion #Energy #FusionEnergy

We’re back to work in CFS headquarters in Massachusetts after a hopping #ClimateWeekNYC. We spent the week talking to and learning from industry pioneers, changemakers, and advocates. And we shared our inside look at how fusion will shape our future at several of the 900 Climate Week events that 100,000 people attended: 🔔 Kicking off the week at Nasdaq's opening bell with Emerson Collective and Galvanize Climate Solutions ✅ Participating in conversations with Deloitte on scaling up fusion and working through the energy transition 📈 Discussing the importance of creative capital in fusion with the Fusion Industry Association ⚛️ Building toy tokamaks with kids at Emerson Collective’s Climate Science Fair to make fusion tangible 🎆 Hosting investors, journalists, and policymakers to grasp the significance of fusion energy Thanks to everyone who welcomed us and joined the conversations. The momentum for change is undeniable. It's time to move now. Move smart. Move together. #Fusion #Energy #Climate

Fusion energy is on the verge of “punching through,” growing out of the research stage and into working power plants. That’s what our CEO Bob Mumgaard, a student of technology history, concluded at our #ClimateWeekNYC event this week.  How much money will it take? More than $1 billion but probably a lot less than $20 billion. “If you put that amount of money behind the problem at the right time, you will punch it through,” Mumgaard said. “Internet from space: punched through. MRNA as a platform for vaccines: punched through. Large language models: punched through. If you really do it at scale, with enough people, with enough timeline, you can get it.” During Climate Week NYC, we brought together investors, journalists, and policymakers to share our insights on the future of fusion energy. The amazing Molly Wood interviewed Bob on stage building the fusion ecosystem then led conversations on attracting the right investments and shaping regulations. A special thanks to our panelists for joining us to discuss the vital connections between fusion, investors, and government. Transforming the energy landscape requires collaboration from all sectors, and we’re committed to making it happen together. #Fusion #Energy #ClimateWeekNYC

We're hiring! Join a diverse team united by a single mission: to enable the energy transition and shape the future of clean power for the world at large. Be a fusion energy pioneer with one of these exciting opportunities: Some roles we looking for are: 🥽 Production technician: 3+ years of experience and knowledge of electromechanical parts and assemblies. You should be great at troubleshooting manufacturing issues and have a keen eye for reading assembly drawings and wiring diagrams. 🔥 Production welder: Documented training or certification in areas like blueprint reading and fabrication, gas metal arc welding (GMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), and advanced shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). You should also have 5+ years of experience as a welder or welding operator working on large structural systems and tooling. 🤝 Quality control inspector: Need a high school diploma, GD&T (geometric dimensioning and tolerance) training, and at least 5 years of experience in advanced mechanical inspections. You should be proficient in ASME Y14.5 and have experience with Creaform and PolyWorks. Register today for our Career Day on Saturday, September 28 from 10 a.m. — 3 p.m. at our Devens, Massachusetts, HQ. https://bit.ly/3XL4azT

Thanks to all who visited us at Emerson Collective’s Climate Science Fair this weekend. Those who came by NYC’s High Line to build their own tokamaks and learned from CFS experts how these fusion devices work to produce clean, abundant energy. The visitors made miniature versions of what CFS is building for real right now, our SPARC tokamak in Devens, Massachusetts. If you missed it, catch the Today Show’s visit here: https://lnkd.in/gHQX__he #FusionEnergy #ClimateWeekNYC

Tackling climate change requires a lot of work from the private sector. That’s why we were so happy to help kick off Climate Week NYC this week by heading to Nasdaq for the market’s opening bell. Our CEO Bob Mumgaard joined the opening festivities alongside Emerson Collective’s Laurene Powell Jobs and Galvanize Climate Solutions’ Tom Steyer. This event spotlighted fusion and other crucial building blocks for making the energy transition real and decarbonizing our economy. And it showed the role that climate investing plays toward that progress. Thank you to the Emerson Collective for inviting us to be a part of this progress. #ClimateWeekNYC #Fusion #Energy

We’re on a mission to deliver clean fusion energy to the planet fast enough to matter for humanity’s biggest challenges. It’s urgent. The gap between the energy we need and the energy we have is widening every day. Fusion is a critical part of the energy transition away from fossil fuels, a new chapter for the world’s energy supply. We’re committing not just to delivering fusion power plants, but also to helping to build a full-fledged fusion energy industry. We must move now. Move fast. Move smart. Move together. #Fusion #Energy

Fusion energy is more than just a power source — it's a catalyst for economic growth, new technology, and energy independence. But how exactly will fusion change the future? Swipe to see how this revolutionary energy will boost industries and help communities worldwide.  #FusionEnergy #RenewableEnergy