Google is making a major move into the world of fusion energy. The tech giant announced on Monday that it has partnered with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a company spun out of MIT and has agreed to purchase a significant amount of power from what will be the world’s first commercial fusion power plant.
Google has pledged to buy 200 megawatts of clean energy from the new plant, known as ARC, which is being built in Virginia. That’s half of the plant’s total planned output. The ARC plant is expected to come online in the early 2030s and will generate enough zero-carbon electricity to power a large industrial site or about 150,000 homes.
This marks Google’s first commercial commitment to fusion power, a technology that promises a nearly limitless source of clean energy. Fusion works by heating light atoms to incredibly high temperatures, causing them to fuse and release a massive amount of energy in the process.
Google, which has been an investor in CFS since 2021, said it has also increased its stake in the company. While the financial details were not disclosed, Google’s head of advanced energy, Michael Terrell, said the company is excited to make a “longer-term bet” on a technology with “transformative potential.”
This isn’t Google’s only bet on fusion. The company has also invested in other startups in its pursuit of achieving commercial-scale fusion energy, demonstrating that it views the technology as a crucial component of its future clean energy strategy.
