Home / Environment / Fusion Power: Lasers Ignite $450M Funding Race
Fusion Power: Lasers Ignite $450M Funding Race
12 Feb
Summary
- Inertia Enterprises secured $450 million to build a commercial fusion power plant.
- The plant will use 1,000 lasers firing 10 times per second to trigger fusion.
- Climate change and budget cuts worsened wildfires threatening ancient Patagonian trees.
Inertia Enterprises, a fusion energy startup, has secured $450 million in Series A funding to develop a commercial power plant. This investment, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, will support the construction of the world's most powerful lasers, intended to trigger fusion reactions. The company aims to begin construction of the power plant in 2030.
This venture into laser-based fusion follows a 2022 breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Inertia plans to employ 1,000 lasers, firing at 10 times per second, to achieve this goal. The substantial funding highlights the increasing global interest in fusion as a source of clean energy, with the industry attracting billions in investment.
Separately, recent wildfires in Argentina and Chile, exacerbated by climate change and budget cuts, are posing a severe threat to ancient trees. Analysis indicates these regions face significantly reduced rainfall due to human-caused warming, making extreme fire conditions more likely. The blazes have already caused devastation, destroying homes and claiming lives, and impacting protected forest areas.
In other climate-related news, the US Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to repeal an Obama-era policy that regulated greenhouse gas emissions, a move seen as a significant rollback in climate change efforts.
