CFS unveils plans for world's first commercial fusion energy plant in Virginia

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has announced plans to construct the world’s first commercial fusion energy power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The multi-billion dollar project, which aims to harness the same process that powers the stars, was unveiled on Tuesday.

“Fusion is what powers the stars, and we are basically trying to build a star here on Earth and use it to make electricity,” said Alex Creely, Chief Engineer at CFS. “In fusion, you take small atoms, combine them together to form bigger atoms like helium, and that releases a bunch of energy. We’ll take that energy and use it to make electricity and then use that electricity to power anything that you want.”

The fusion power plant is set to be built at Dominion Energy's James River Industrial Complex in Chesterfield. According to CFS and local leaders, the plant could provide clean and safe energy for hundreds of thousands of homes and create hundreds of jobs.

The energy will be generated using a doughnut-shaped machine called tokamak, which uses powerful magnets to produce 400 megawatts of net electricity. This output would be enough to power approximately 150,000 homes for over 20 years. Those involved in the project emphasized the safety of the process, noting that the fusion reaction stops automatically if exposed to air.

Bob Mumgaard, co-founder and CEO of CFS, highlighted the significance of the project in a video presentation. “What we learn is how to integrate a fusion power plant into the grid, which will naturally have to happen for all future fusion power plants,” he explained. “Dominion is going to learn about fusion, so after this, we should have fusion actually as a template going forward.”

Governor Glenn Youngkin welcomed the project and assured residents that it would not impact Dominion ratepayers. “They will be providing the power either to the customer or series of customers, or directly into the PJM power grid, but they are not putting this on the back of Dominion ratepayers,” Youngkin said. “The state is growing, we need more power, and this is part of the solution.”

The state and Chesterfield County are collectively investing $2 million into the initiative. Chesterfield County has also pledged an additional $10 million for long-term advancements. Jim Ingle, Chesterfield Supervisor for the Bermuda District where the plant will be located, expressed his enthusiasm. “They’ve been looking for approximately two years, and Chesterfield only became an option to them in the last four to six months,” he said. “It was shared today that they can bring in all the fuel to run the plant for 20 years on one tractor-trailer. I think that is truly amazing and shows that we’re not bringing in something dangerous or harmful to the community. We’re bringing in something very positive and we’re going to be able to help meet the energy demand that we have in the area.”

The project has drawn attention from energy experts. Adam Stein, Director of the Nuclear Energy Innovation programme at the Breakthrough Institute, acknowledged the challenges of commercialising fusion energy. “Making progress is different from having a product available,” Stein wrote in an article earlier this year. “First-generation stations are likely to be costly and unreliable — that is just part of innovation. Still, assuming we’re going to move away from fossil fuels, that population growth dramatically increases, and developing nations’ demand for energy continues to grow, there’s a vast potential market for all clean energy sources moving forward.”

The Chesterfield facility represents a significant step forward for fusion energy and could serve as a blueprint for future plants worldwide.