MIT's fusion energy spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems secured the return of The Engine and Eni for a $84m series A2 round that followed a $115m series A last year.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a US-based fusion energy technology spinout of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has attracted $84m in a series A2 round featuring MIT-aligned tough tech incubator and venture fund The Engine.
The deal was led by Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek, with participation from oil producers Equinor and Eni, the latter through cleantech-focused investment unit Eni Next.
Devonshire Investors, a private equity arm of financial services group Fidelity, also took part, as did pension fund Hostplus, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Future Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, Safar Partners, Schooner Capital, Starlight Ventures and undisclosed additional investors.
Founded in 2018, CFS is working on technology to produce nuclear fusion, a still-hypothetical means of electricity generation whereby two nuclei spliced together release vast amounts of energy.
The spinout’s approach leverages high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets, a relatively recent innovation, as the basis for size and cost-efficient nuclear fusion plants capable of maintaining nuclei-containing plasma at sufficient density and heat.
The funding will assist CFS’s development priorities, which include new headquarters and increased manufacturing capacity, on the way to building its first fusion power unit – dubbed Sparc – in alliance with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
Proceeds will also support business development surrounding the HTS magnets, ahead of a pilot fusion test with 20 such magnets in 2021.
CFS expects the magnets to have commercial applications aside from driving its power plants.
The Engine backed a $115m series A round for CFS which closed in June 2019, investing alongside Eni, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Future Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Safar Partners, Schooner Capital and Starlight Ventures.
Beni Venture Capital has also backed CFS previously, according to the firm’s portfolio, though it is unclear when or how much it has invested.
