Google-backed project gets big funding boost in pursuit of game-changing energy prototype: 'Critical innovations'

TAE Technologies has received another $150 million in funding for its unique reactor design from existing backers, including Google, Chevron, and New Enterprise Associates.

TechCrunch reported that over the company's 30-year existence, it has raised a total of $1.8 billion, making it one of the highest-funded fusion companies in this emerging sector. 

Fusion holds the promise of near-limitless energy, relying on the generation of superheated plasma confined by magnetic fields to sustain the reaction and harness its power over extended periods.

In a break from the common tokamak or stellarator designs, TAE is using a field-reversed configuration (FRC) that leverages the plasma's own magnetic field to reduce the number of external magnets required for confinement, while also making the machine more energy efficient. 

Initially, TAE needed to fire two plasma balls to create a reaction, but now it's using a neutral beam injection (NBI) method to produce a hot, stable FRC plasma torus that resembles a tapered hollow tube.  

"The NBI-only approach was previously attempted in many experiments going back decades, but it was unsuccessful. It is TAE's critical innovations in neutral beams, power supplies and real-time active feedback control that have paved the way for this breakthrough," said TAE chief science officer Toshiki Tajima, in a statement. 

This advancement has helped the company reduce reactor size, complexity, and costs by up to 50%, increasing the economic competitiveness and commercial viability of their technology, the company added. 

TAE also claims that an FRC-based machine can generate up to 100 times more fusion power than a typical tokamak. Since the process produces a low interior magnetic field, it increases the viability of the company's preferred fuel: hydrogen-boron (p-B11), which is both non-radioactive and abundant.  

Investments in fusion may help diversify our clean energy options and reduce our dependence on polluting dirty fuels. 

Adding to the list of renewable energy sources, like solar, wind, and hydro, can help increase energy security for countries and protect them from the unpredictable price swings of the oil and gas industry. 

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So far, the company told TechCrunch that its reactor can create plasmas heated up to 126 million degrees Fahrenheit. However, for commercial applications, it will need to reach 1.8 billion degrees Fahrenheit, so there's still work to be done. 

TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer told Axios that he's setting his sights on raising another $50 million before the funding round closes at the end of the summer, the report noted.

That should help the company continue its work toward building its first prototype fusion power plant by the early 2030s.

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