The promise of fusion technology is redefining the future of clean energy, poised to deliver virtually unlimited, carbon-free power in the coming decades. In his DLD25 talk, Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), presents a thrilling vision of fusion power as the ultimate solution to the world’s growing energy demands.
“Can you actually meet the insatiable demand that’s going to come for clean energy to be consistent with life on earth?”, Mumgaard asks?
His answer is yes – provided humans manage to unlock the energy that fuels the stars safely here on planet Earth.
Fusion energy “is the opposite of nuclear power”, Mumgaard explains. Unlike nuclear fission, which splits atoms, fusion combines the lightest elements to release immense energy, offering unparalleled potential for clean energy production. And nature has already optimized for it: “99.999 [percent] of all the energy in the universe is fusion energy.”
He points out that CFS is at the forefront of this technology, being the largest of roughly 50 fusion companies in the world. With 1,000 employees and $2 billion in capital, “CFS is about a third of all the people, about a third of all the money”, Mumgaard notes.
The company is developing a fusion power plant that could generate 400 megawatts of electricity, comparable to a large gas or coal power plant. In a first step, a prototype called SPACR, designed to produce 100 megawatts, is already being built. “We’re about two years away from pushing the button and turning this on”, Mumgaard says.
The CFS co-founder emphasizes that the science behind fusion is now well understood, with recent breakthroughs, such as achieving more energy output than input at a facility in California, paving the way for commercialization. “We’ve marched up faster than Moore’s Law”, he says, emphasizing the rapid progress in fusion technology.
Watch the video for details about the scalability of fusion energy, its potential to transform the global energy industry, and help the world become climate neutral.
