US fusion start-up Type One Energy has entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to jointly develop plans for a potential TVA fusion power plant project. This will use Type One Energy stellarator fusion power technology. Type One says the 350 MWe fusion pilot power plant design, Infinity Two, “offers a complementary source of base load electrical generation for the region as early as the mid-2030s”. It has the potential to repurpose retired TVA fossil fuel power plant infrastructure in addition to being deployed onto greenfield sites in support of energy security and reliability.
The Cooperative Agreement expands on Project Infinity, launched by Type One Energy, TVA, and the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in early 2024, supported by the state of Tennessee. The project originally focused on deploying the Type One Energy Infinity One stellarator prototype in TVA’s Bull Run power plant. However, now it “encompasses a deeper, broader engagement toward commercialisation of fusion energy”. TVA and Type One Energy will collaborate on Infinity Two fusion power plant siting studies, environmental reviews, and licensing, as well as development of project plans and financing from various sources. Type One Energy will support TVA in its evaluation and review of the project.
Joe Hoagland, TVA Vice President Innovation & Research said unleashing America’s energy potential will take all forms of generation including fusion. “Energy security is national security, and we are focused on developing a technology, supply chain, and delivery model to build an industry that can power America and the world.”
The Cooperative Agreement links with a separate arrangement between the parties to access the capabilities of TVA’s Power Service Shops (PSS) in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. This enables Type One Energy to continue shaping its supply chain for stellarator fusion power plants, with PSS supporting modular manufacturing and assembly of Infinity Two. Type One says the arrangement would also enable TVA to benefit from the subsequent scaling of fusion energy on a global basis, following the successful deployment of Infinity Two.
“TVA brings us best-in-class power plant operations, maintenance, engineering, licensing, and even project planning and construction capabilities, all skills critical to success that we now don’t need to try and recreate,” said Christofer Mowry, Type One Energy’s CEO. “Instead, we can focus on completing the design of Infinity Two and testing it with the Infinity One prototype in TVA’s Bull Run plant. The ability for us to focus on developing and delivering the core stellarator technology materially derisks our path to fusion power plant commercialisation.”
Project Infinity continues to advance the Type One Energy strategy to utilize established capabilities across the global energy sector to minimize commercialization risks and avoid the challenges of vertical integration. This agreement complements Type One Energy’s recently announced technology licensing and manufacturing agreement with Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
The agreement with Commonwealth Fusion Systems allows Type One Energy to design proprietary stellarator fusion magnets by levering CFS’s expertise in the development and manufacturing of some of the strongest fusion magnets in the world. The agreement gives Type One Energy an exclusive licence to use CFS high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable technology in the development of its own proprietary stellarator fusion magnets.
Type One said the agreement with CFS is part of a supply chain strategy to deliver Infinity Two in a highly capital efficient manner, with minimal commercialisation risks, by establishing strong industry partnerships.
“At CFS, we are confident in our approach using magnetic confinement in tokamaks, but we also want to support companies pursuing other promising magnetic confinement applications given the scale necessary to address the urgent transition to fusion energy and the transformative nature of high-field magnets,” said Bob Mumgaard, CEO and Co-founder of CFS.
