General Fusion, a Canada-based fusion power technology developer backed by oil supplier Cenovus Energy, has received C$49.3m ($37.6m) in funding from the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund.
Founded in 2002, General Fusion is working on fusion power technology that will utilise nuclear fusion. The company’s technology is designed to be used in dedicated power plants, and would theoretically produce no carbon emissions and relatively low levels of waste.
The investment will help the company develop and build a large-scale prototype plant and is intended to create jobs in the province of British Columbia.
General Fusion last raised funding in 2015 when it secured $22m from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional and undisclosed existing investors to increase its overall funding to C$100m ($83m at contemporary exchange rates).
Cenovus invested $3.8m in the company as part of a $19.5m series B round in 2011 that included Bezos Expeditions, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, GrowthWorks, Braemar Energy Ventures, Entrepreneurs Fund, Business Development Bank of Canada and Set Venture Partners.
General Fusion CEO Christofer Mowry said: “This investment by Canada in General Fusion’s transformative clean energy technology is evidence of its commitment to meeting the country’s climate change goals while fostering truly sustainable growth – sustainable growth that will be powered by the disruptively competitive economics and environmentally responsible benefits of fusion energy.
“This Strategic Innovation Fund investment and Canada’s expectation for a financial return on this investment are a vote of confidence in General Fusion’s ability to successfully commercialise its technology and in our ability to deliver new jobs and new opportunities throughout British Columbia and across Canada.”
Photo courtesy of General Fusion.
