Type One Energy Completes Formal Initial Design Review of Fusion Power Plant

Type One Energy announced on May 27 that it had successfully completed the first formal design review of Infinity Two, which is based on the world’s only implementable, peer-reviewed physics basis for a fusion power plant recently published by the prestigious Journal of Plasma Physics. The Infinity Two design is progressing in support of a potential fusion power plant project with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), using Type One Energy stellarator technology.

The Infinity Two design review board, which was chaired by Type One Energy Chief Technology Officer Dr. Thomas Sunn Pedersen, included several outside experts, including Dr. George H. “Hutch” Neilson from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Dr. Paolo Ferroni from the Westinghouse Electric Company, to provide independent assessments of the engineering work performed by Type One Energy.

“It is the first serious fusion power plant design that I’ve seen,” said Dr. Neilson. “The work they’ve done to date provides a sound foundation for continued design development of what could be the first system to produce net electricity from fusion.”

Dr. Ferroni, the Chief Engineer for Advanced Reactors—GenIV/Fusion at Westinghouse Electric Company, added, “I think it is important that the Type One Energy team is taking a comprehensive plant-level approach to develop their technology, which includes a description of all necessary systems, not just the plasma core.”

Successful completion of the initial design review confirms that the Infinity Two technology approach, architecture, performance, and reliability requirements remain aligned with the expectations of TVA and the broader global energy market for a commercially viable first-of-a-kind (FOAK) fusion power plant.

The Type One Energy Infinity Two fusion power plant is being designed to put a nominal 350 MWe on the electricity grid. This design is based on the company’s groundbreaking stellarator fusion physics basis, which, for the first time, realistically considered in a comprehensive and unified manner, the complex relationship between competing requirements for plasma performance, power plant startup, construction logistics, reliability, and economics utilizing actual power plant operating experience. The Journal of Plasma Physics considers this approach to be “… setting the gold standard for how this is done.”

The Infinity Two architecture is grounded in stellarator fusion technology. This technology has, uniquely within the fusion industry, demonstrated stable, continuous steady-state operation at large scale by the W7-X machine. By properly architecting Infinity Two, Type One Energy is creating a proprietary fusion power plant design that supports a compelling two-year power plant operating cycle separated by 30-day planned maintenance outages using today’s existing materials and enabling technologies. The company also made use of its partner-rich commercialization program to access the power generation industry’s deep expertise in power plant engineering design. Among other firms, AtkinsRéalis assisted in developing the design of those Infinity Two systems and structures not part of Type One Energy’s core focus on the stellarator fusion technology.

“Our ability to efficiently architect the initial Infinity Two design in an efficient, partner-rich manner reaffirms our commitment to pursuing the lowest-risk, shortest-schedule path to a commercially viable fusion power plant,” said Christofer Mowry, CEO for Type One Energy. “The energy industry needs more reliable, clean, power generation technology that can meet the rapidly increasing demand for electricity and we are delivering a commercially compelling solution.”

The progress Type One Energy is making on its Infinity Two fusion power plant design, together with its collaboration with TVA, has attracted the attention of the global energy industry. Several prominent energy utilities and industrial companies have expressed an interest in Infinity Two and participation in Type One Energy’s deployment of its first-generation fusion power plant technology.

About Type One Energy Type One Energy Group is mission-driven to provide sustainable, affordable fusion power to the world. Established in 2019 and venture-backed in 2023, the company is led by a team of globally recognized fusion scientists with a strong track record of building state-of-the-art stellarator fusion machines, together with veteran business leaders experienced in scaling companies and commercializing energy technologies. Type One Energy applies proven advanced manufacturing methods, modern computational physics and high-field superconducting magnets to develop its optimized stellarator fusion energy system. Its FusionDirect development program pursues the lowest-risk, shortest-schedule path to a fusion power plant over the coming decade, using a partner-intensive and capital-efficient strategy. Type One Energy is committed to community engagement in the development and deployment of its clean energy technology. For more information, visit www.typeoneenergy.com.