Set to be constructed in a 100,000 square foot facility in Irvine, California, US, Copernicus is designed to demonstrate the viability of achieving net energy generation with TAE’s advanced beam-driven field-reversed configuration (FRC).

According to TAE, its non-radioactive hydrogen-boron fusion approach represents the fastest, most practical, and economically competitive solution to bring abundant carbon-free energy to the grid.

Its latest round of investment from companies such as Chevron, Google, Reimagined Ventures, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA), and TIFF Investment Managing, investment in the technology totals up to $1.2bn to date.

Michl Binderbauer, CEO of TAE Technologies, said, “The calibre and interest of our investors validates our significant technical progress and supports our goal to begin commercialisation of fusion by the end of this decade.

“Global electricity demand is growing exponentially, and we have a moral obligation to do our utmost to develop a baseload power solution that is safe, carbon-free, and economically viable.”

TAE Technologies revealed in 2021 that it had partnered with the Japanese Institute of Fusion Science (NIFD) to test its hydrogen-boron fusion reactions.

Read more: TAE Technologies signs agreement to study hydrogen-boron fusion reactors

Commenting on the investment, Jim Gable, Vice-President of Innovation and President of Chevron Technology Ventures, said, “TAE, and fusion technology as a whole, has the potential to be a scalable source of no-carbon energy generation and a key enabler of grid stability as renewables become a greater portion of the energy mix.”