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Google places another fusion power bet on TAE Technologies | TechCrunch

Jun 03, 2025 - techcrunch.com
TAE Technologies, a nearly 30-year-old company formerly known as Tri Alpha Energy, has raised an additional $150 million in a funding round with investments from Google, Chevron, and New Enterprise Associates, bringing its total funding to approximately $1.8 billion. The company has been developing a fusion reactor design that initially involved firing two plasma balls at each other. Recently, TAE announced advancements that allow the formation, heating, and stabilization of plasma using particle beams alone, making the reactor smaller, cheaper, and easier to operate. Google has been collaborating with TAE since 2014, utilizing machine learning to optimize fusion device settings, significantly reducing the time required for experiments.

TAE's current reactor can heat plasmas to 70 million degrees Celsius, but the company aims to reach 1 billion degrees Celsius for its commercial device, with plans to connect to the grid in the early 2030s. CEO Michl Binderbauer is seeking an additional $50 million in funding before the round closes. Tim De Chant, a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch, has covered this development and has an extensive background in environmental science and journalism, including a PhD from UC Berkeley and a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT.

Key takeaways:

  • TAE Technologies has raised $150 million in a new funding round, bringing its total funding to about $1.8 billion, making it one of the highest funded fusion companies.
  • The company has developed a reactor design that no longer requires firing two plasma balls to initiate a reaction, making the reactor smaller, cheaper, and easier to operate.
  • Google has been collaborating with TAE since 2014, using AI to optimize fusion device settings, significantly reducing the number of experiments needed.
  • TAE aims to heat plasmas to 1 billion degrees Celsius for its commercial device and hopes to generate electricity for the grid by the early 2030s.
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