Zap Energy

Zap CEO Benj Conway made an appearance on This Week in Startups with  Alex Wilhelm to talk about the benefits of cheaper #fusionenergy. The episode is available on their feeds, go check it out. - YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gWfizJEW - Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gZfEtt2w - Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gB7VADgd

Zap Energy’s Bold Bet: Fusion Without the Billions? Alex Wilhelm sits down with Benj Conway, CEO of Zap Energy, to talk about their breakthrough approach to fusion power—one that doesn’t require billion-dollar machines or decades-long timelines. Could this be the future of clean energy? • Z-pinch revival: A long-abandoned fusion approach, now back and closer than ever to net power production. • Scaling fast, iterating faster: Instead of massive reactors, Zap builds small, modular devices that can be improved in months, not years. • The “anti-ITER”: While ITER takes decades and billions to build, Zap Energy is proving fusion can be cheaper, faster, and scalable. • Cost matters: If fusion power isn’t affordable, it won’t scale—Zap is making sure it is. Could rapid iteration be the missing key to unlocking fusion energy?

Zap has officially met our first major technology milestone under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program as validated by their panel of experts. To meet the target, the Century platform produced a series of >1,000 Z-pinch plasmas with at least 100 kA input current each, discharged in a flowing liquid metal wall environment including a durable liquid-metal tipped cathode system. This is a huge accomplishment by the team that required the full system and all subsystems to operate continuously for 3 hours without failure. Here's a short clip showing a series of five plasma shots in Century during a 2024 campaign. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gApG8YiQ

⚡ Just released! The Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy is excited to release its preliminary report, "Fusion Power: Enabling 21st Century American Dominance." 🇺🇸 The report presents an urgent strategy for accelerating fusion energy commercialization—not just as an energy breakthrough, but as a national security imperative for the United States. Inside, you'll discover ⬇️ 💡 A compelling case for fusion: Why full-scale fusion deployment enables U.S. energy independence, economic resilience, and technological competitiveness. 💡 A roadmap for success: The decisive actions needed—federal leadership, regulatory reform, strategic investment, and public-private collaboration—to accelerate fusion commercialization and secure U.S. leadership. 💡 A call to action: The race for fusion is on. The United States must act now to lead in this game-changing technology and ensure long-term energy independence, economic competitiveness, and global influence! Thanks to all of the Commissioners who helped craft this timely and important report: Manu Asthana, Kimberly Budil, Steven Cowley, Paul Dabbar, David Kirtley, Michael Kuiken, Mark W. Menezes, Bob Mumgaard, Luke Murry, Rachel Slaybaugh. We are also grateful to Commission Co-Chairs Senator Risch and Senator Cantwell for their strategic guidance and support for fusion commercialization. 📖 Read the full report now! https://lnkd.in/eYxyF6eX #SCSPTech

The biggest risk to fusion is capital. We have the technology. We've got the talent. This was the discussion at FusionXInvest last week with Rajesh Swaminathan, Matt Trevithick, Eric Helfgott, and Katie Fehrenbacher. Each fusion company needs to raise $5B - $10B to break through to commercial scale. ⚙️ R&D and Prototype (2020’s) = $500M - $2B from VC, SWF, High-Net-Worth, & strategics 🏗️ Pilot Plants (2030’s) = $2B - $5B from late-stage growth, SWF, & corporates 🏭 Full Commercial Rollout (2040's) = $20B+ from infrastructure, institutional, and utilities There's plenty of capital to fund multiple companies through the 2020’s. $350B of venture was deployed in 2024 alone. The challenge comes in the 2030's. Fusion companies will need to hit their net energy milestones on time and on-budget to unlock the $2.1T of dry powder sitting in later-stage growth capital. Plenty of opportunity waiting for companies like Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Xcimer Energy Corporation, and Zap Energy to show the world what they've got. Reach out to the Emerson Collective team if you’re building in the space.

Right now China is both pouring concrete into fusion facilities and cementing its IP lead.

In physics, the term “isotropy” means a system where the properties are the same in all directions. For fusion, neutron energy isotropy is an important measurement that analyzes the streams of neutrons coming from the device and how uniform they are. This is critical because so-called isotropic fusion plasmas suggest a stable, thermal plasma that can be scaled to higher fusion energy gains, whereas anisotropic plasmas, those emitting irregular neutron energies, can lead to a dead end. A new Zap research paper, published last week in Nuclear Fusion, details neutron isotropy measurements from the FuZE device that provide the best validation yet that Zap’s sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinches generate stable, thermal fusion. It’s a benchmark milestone for scaling fusion to higher energy yields in Zap’s technology and giving confidence in reaching higher performance on the FuZE-Q device. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gbrfdKNs #fusionenergy #fusion #fusionscience #zpinch Rachel Ryan Uri Shumlak Ben Levitt Pi-En T. Amanda Youmans James M Mitrani Drew P. Higginson Colin Adams Derek Sutherland

Thank you NRC Commissioner Annie Caputo and team for taking some time last week to pay a visit to Zap to learn about our fusion approach and progress.

A lot of fusion announcements this week! We’re looking forward to our policy conference in February - bringing together global leaders in government, industry, investment, & academia to discuss milestones on the path to fusion deployment. Looking forward to seeing many of you there! Registration and sponsorship opportunities are available until space is filled. https://lnkd.in/dUZ8vxs4 P.S. Government, press, FIA members, and students get a discount code. Ping us if you fit in one of those buckets and we'll get you sorted. P.P.S. Early bird discount ends this month. #FusionEnergy

It's that time of year where we pause for a moment to reflect on everything achieved over the past 12 months. Check out Zap's latest blog post for a look back at ten of our top highlights from 2024. https://lnkd.in/eQUU2GsE