Fuse Energy Technologies Corporation

Fuse Energy Technologies Corporation
Company typePrivate
IndustryDefense, energy
Founded2019
FounderJ.C. Btaiche
HeadquartersSan Leandro, California, United States
Websitewww.f.energy

Fuse Energy Technologies Corporation (also known as Fuse) is a U.S.-based fusion defense company that provides radiation testing services for national security customers as a path to commercial fusion power. It builds advanced radiation machines to test the resilience of governments and commercial hardware through short bursts of radiation.[1] Fuse is also developing a fusion generator able to deliver clean energy.[1] It was founded by J.C. Btaiche in 2019 and is headquartered in San Leandro, California.[1][2]

History

In 2019, at 19 years old, J.C. Btaiche founded Fuse to evaluate various fusion power methods.[3][4] Fuse ultimately chose to develop an advanced pulsed power machine able to power a MagLIF Z-pinch magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) device.[5]

In February 2024, Fuse was awarded a contract from the United States Air Force to develop new nuclear effects testing options for the military.[6][7] Fuse conducted a live-fire, six-stage test of the world's first high-energy, high-power impedance-matched Marx generator (IMG), named TITAN, and published experimental results from the machine in Nature Scientific Reports in July 2024.[8] TITAN will serve as Fuse's pulsed power driver for future fusion generators. In the same year, former National Nuclear Security Administrator and Energy Department Under Secretary Lisa Gordon-Hagerty joined the company's board of directors.[3] In 2024, Fuse also announced it was developing designs for two more fusion platforms: a test platform named Z-Star and a pilot fusion plant named Apeiron I.[3][9]

At its San Leandro headquarters, Fuse operates a radiation facility which opening was covered by Wired magazine.[2]

Fuse has contracts with the U.S. Air Force, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and cooperative research and development agreements (CRADA) with Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory.[1][4][10]

Former Chief Engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory, James Owen serves as the President of the company's federal subsidiary, Fuse Federal, LLC.[11][12] Former Afghanistan base chief for the CIA Laura Thomas serves as the company's chief strategy officer.[1][4] Former Atomic Energy Organization of Iran nuclear scientist Vahid Damideh serves as the company's chief engineer.[4]

Investors in Fuse include Bracket Capital, Tamarack Global, and Buckley Ventures.[1][13]According to Bloomberg News, the company was valued at over $200 million in September 2024.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Nuclear Startup Fuse Valued at Over $200 Million in New Funding". Financial Post. September 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Lanier, Jaron. "Inside a Fusion Startup's Insane, Top-Secret Opening Ceremony". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  3. ^ a b c Zisk, Rachael (2024-09-16). "Fuse Energy Technologies Raises $32M". Ignition News - Nuclear energy news. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  4. ^ a b c d Jeans, David (July 3, 2024). "Why Top Nuclear Experts and Ex-CIA Brass Joined A High School Grad's Tiny Fusion Startup". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  5. ^ Mehlhorn, Thomas A. (2024-02-28). "From KMS Fusion to HB11 Energy and Xcimer Energy, a personal 50 year IFE perspective". Physics of Plasmas. 31 (2): 020602. doi:10.1063/5.0170661. ISSN 1070-664X.
  6. ^ Vincent, Brandi (2024-02-28). "Air Force invests in new nuclear effects testing prototypes". DefenseScoop. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  7. ^ Stanczyk, Sarah (2025-02-27). "The Convergence of VC and DOE in Fusion Technology". APELC. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  8. ^ Damideh, Vahid; Btaiche, J. C.; Ho, Alex; Spielman, R. B.; Lehr, Jane M.; Mehlhorn, T. A.; Hassen, Isaac; Akoulov, Alexei; Aranfar, Elahe; McDonald, Alex; Tochon, Pierre; Choudhury, Ayan; Beaulieu, Emile; Tan, Hao Xian; Yu, Anson (2024-07-23). "Experimental results of a 330 GW impedance-matched Marx generator". Scientific Reports. 14 (1): 16889. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-67774-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 11266602.
  9. ^ Wang, Brian (2024-10-21). "Startup Fuse Progresses to Terawatt Z-Pinch Fusion". NextBigFuture.com. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  10. ^ "Los Alamos National Laboratory chief engineer joins nuclear fusion startup Fuse". Reuters. November 22, 2024.
  11. ^ Lee, Sing; Damideh, Vahid; Btaiche, J. C. (2023-10-01). "MagLIF: Dynamics and energetics of liner and fuel". Vacuum. 216 112471. doi:10.1016/j.vacuum.2023.112471. ISSN 0042-207X.
  12. ^ "Los Alamos National Laboratory's James Owen Leaving Lab After Distinguished 30-Year Career To Enter Private Sector". ladailypost.com. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  13. ^ "Exclusive: Tamarack Global raises $72M for second deep tech fund". Axios. 2024-10-30. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
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