Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a startup hoping to pioneer nuclear fusion, has shipped two specialized magnets to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it told TechCrunch exclusively.
The move comes years before CFS plans to commission its SPARC demonstration reactor. It is the first contract of its kind, but likely will not be the last. It signals that the fusion sector has matured to support supply agreements in addition to research and development partnerships.
“We recognize that magnets can be useful for other things,” CFS CEO Bob Mungard told TechCrunch. “If you're building a ladder, you don't want to kick it over. How are you going to help someone else climb up after you?”
Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers the Sun and other stars. Currently, most nuclear power plants on Earth run on nuclear fission. The idea that nuclear fusion could one day provide cheap, nearly unlimited electricity has been around for decades, but controlling the reaction on Earth has proven extremely difficult. In recent years, however, scientists have begun to make progress toward making fusion reactions a positive output — that is, one that produces more energy than it takes to start the reaction — and venture money is flowing into several startups in the field. CFS is one of the hottest companies, spun out of MIT research and with over $2 billion in venture funding (according to Pitchbook).
Perhaps Mungard underestimates the importance of ComoWealth's magnets: without them, the company wouldn't exist. The startup worked with MIT scientists to develop a new type of rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) magnet that produces an incredibly powerful magnetic field.
Magnets are so powerful that they can be miniaturized and still contain the incandescent plasma inside the reactor. Smaller magnets also cost less and require less supporting materials and equipment. These savings can be cascaded throughout the power plant, making it commercially viable.
Given these advantages, it's no surprise that other companies are interested in buying Commonwealth's magnets; the company has kept potential competitors out, at least for now. The University of Wisconsin-Madison project is not only a research experiment, but also an entirely different reactor design. Known as WHAM, the reactor would produce a tube of plasma rather than a doughnut shape like Commonwealth's tokamak.
The funding the university is using comes from the federal ARPA-E program. (WHAM is also partnering with Realta Fusion, another startup that spun out of the experiment, though CFS and Realta are not themselves partners.)
As part of the contract, Commonwealth will ship the completed magnet along with the necessary assemblies, cooling and control systems, which the startup says will also be controlled by its own software.
Of course, the deal isn't entirely generous. The university pays Commonwealth for the magnets, though the amount has not been disclosed. “The fact that we own these magnets and that we've spent a lot of money developing them. Well, it's good business for us,” Mungard said.