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Google Signs Landmark Deal for Fusion Power with CFS

Google makes its first commercial commitment to fusion energy, agreeing to purchase 200MW from CFS’s first ARC power plant in Virginia.

Google has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) for 200 megawatts (MW) of clean fusion electricity from the company’s inaugural ARC power plant, planned for Chesterfield County, Virginia. The agreement marks Google’s first commercial deal for fusion energy and represents the largest known direct corporate offtake for this energy type to date.

As part of the strategic partnership, Google is also increasing its equity investment in CFS, a Devens, Massachusetts-based fusion energy company. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. Google first invested in CFS in 2021 to support its SPARC fusion demonstration device.

CFS’s ARC plant, expected to go online in the early 2030s, is designed to produce 400MW of net electricity—equivalent to a utility-scale natural gas plant. Google will also have the option to purchase power from future ARC plants developed by CFS.

The agreement is contingent upon SPARC, CFS’s prototype fusion machine, achieving net energy gain (Q>1). SPARC, now under construction in Massachusetts, is based on a high-field tokamak architecture using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to create the conditions necessary for fusion.

“By entering into this agreement with CFS, we hope to help prove out and scale a promising pathway toward commercial fusion power.”— Michael Terrell, Head of Advanced Energy, Google

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