Commonwealth Fusion’s CEO sees UAE primed for new energy tech
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The Scene When Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems looked for companies that could produce large metal components and complex machinery for its prototype, it landed on the oil and gas industry. CEO Bob Mumgaard said the hydrocarbons industry shares many of the same skills and tools that fusion developers need to achieve a breakthrough and eventually take a share of the energy mix. The UAE is well positioned to use its expertise in oil and gas to adopt fusion technology, Mumgaard said, especially after it has developed a track record of building nuclear power plants and its embrace of AI. “They understand what energy leadership and first mover advantage, advanced technologies can bring to their society, their place in the world,” he said. Abu Dhabi’s government-owned fusion fund, Plynth Energy, acquired a minority stake worth more than $100 million in Commonwealth this year, according to Axios. The US company raised $1 billion in July, bringing its total funding to $4 billion, which Mumgaard said would be enough to build the prototype and prepare for a larger, utility-scale plant in the early 2030s. Next decade Scientists have long predicted that the fusion breakthrough is a decade away. The prospect of unlimited, clean, and safe power is tantalizing, and it now appears that mastery of the reaction that essentially powers the stars is within reach. Commonwealth’s Massachusetts prototype uses powerful magnets and hydrogen isotopes (deuterium and tritium) to produce a reaction that’s hotter than the sun’s core. The machine is about 80% complete, Mumgaard said, and is due to start up in 2027. Its goal is to show that it can release more energy than it takes in. The company then plans to build a 400-megawatt plant in Virginia and has secured Google and Italian energy company Eni as buyers, Mumgaard said. Global adoption at scale is still decades away, but Mumgaard said the US-Iran conflict is also making the case for accelerating research and deployment. “Fusion is one of the most secure, resilient energy systems because it doesn’t need pipelines or ships, and it doesn’t have emissions,” he said. Notable - Former Abu Dhabi government official Tareq Alotaiba explains why the country is betting on fusion, in a Semafor column. - The International Atomic Energy Agency lays out the science behind nuclear fusion in this explainer.
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