General Fusion raises $20 million from Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and BDC Capital

General Fusion, a fusion energy company, announced it raised $20 million from Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, and BDC Capital — the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada.

The funding will help the company work toward the next phase of providing clean energy from fusion technology to the grid by the early to mid-2030s. The money will go towards developing  the demonstration program for its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), a magnetized target fusion machine (MTF) designed to de-risk the commercial use of fusion energy by the early to mid-2030s.

“To fast-track its progress toward commercialization, General Fusion is advancing its LM26 demonstration program in Richmond, B.C.,” shared the company in a press release. “This groundbreaking machine is designed to achieve two transformational milestones for fusion energy: temperatures of over 100 million degrees Celsius and scientific breakeven equivalent, using the company’s uniquely practical MTF technology.”

Known as the holy grail of clean energy, fusion energy generates a massive amount of heat, which turns into steam that drives a turbine to create electricity.

According to General Fusion, fusion development can drive new jobs, economic growth, intellectual property, and innovation in Canada. It believes building and operating domestic fusion power plants and exporting products and services for international experiments and plants could create over 63,000 Canadian jobs and establish valuable supply chains by 2050.

The company added that fusion energy could offer $520 billion in cumulative economic benefits by 2100. In addition, as a clean source of heat and electrical energy, fusion energy could help reduce cumulative emissions by up to 192 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050 — a number that represents nearly one third of Canada's total annual emissions.

“Canada is a global leader in nuclear energy, and this investment in General Fusion reinforces our status as a powerful innovator in nuclear science and technology,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, federal minister of energy and natural resources, in a press release. “Backed by almost 80 years of experience and contributions, Canada’s nuclear industry is poised to seize the global economic opportunities before us. This investment aligns with the Government of Canada’s economic plan to foster energy innovation, increase productivity, and ensure Canada continues to lead in the economy of the future.”

The news comes just a few weeks after crown corporation Innovate BC announced that it’s providing funding to LM26 and two other cleantech projects. To date, General Fusion has raised $71 million for its LM26 since the project’s launch in 2023.

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