TVA, Type One Energy collaborate on fusion commercialisation

Type One Energy is developing Infinity Two, a first-generation 350 MWe baseload power plant using the company's stellarator fusion technology. The authority announced on 19 September that it had issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) to Type One Energy regarding the utility's interest in the potential deployment of the technology at the Bull Run site once it is commercially ready.

Unlike a tokamak fusion reactor - such as the Joint European Torus in the UK or the Iter device under construction in France - a stellarator is based on a twisted figure-8 shape rather than a toroid. This gets round the problems tokamaks face when magnetic coils confining the plasma are necessarily less dense on the outside of the toroidal ring.

TVA says the stellarator is currently the only fusion technology to have demonstrated stable, steady-state operation with high efficiency - characteristics which it says are important to reliably generate on-demand power at competitive prices. It also notes that Infinity Two is being developed using existing materials and fundamental fusion technologies to support near-term deployment. The LOI also covers potential future use of the prototype facilities as an operator and maintenance training facility for the Infinity Two workforce.

_{A rendering of the Infinity Two plant at the Bull Run site in east Tennessee (Image: Type One Energy)}

"TVA is a leader in pursuing advanced nuclear technologies we need to power America's economic prosperity and fuel artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing," said Don Moul, TVA President and CEO. "We are strategically partnering with innovative companies like Type One Energy to advance the development of nuclear technologies, and I am excited about the possibility of the first US commercial stellarator fusion power plant being built in the Tennessee Valley. Our region is building a nuclear ecosystem that provides good jobs and opportunities for the people of the Valley."

Type One Energy CEO Christofer Mowry said the company was "honoured" to work with TVA on the world's first private sector fusion power plant project. "TVA is a best-in-class energy utility that knows how to build, operate, and maintain complex power generation technologies," he said, adding that the letter of intent with TVA, and the role it establishes for Type One Energy as the fusion technology provider for the Infinity Two project, "is therefore fully aligned with our goal of pursuing the lowest-risk approach to commercialising fusion energy".

"Tennessee is ready-made to lead America's energy independence, and today's announcement further strengthens our position as a leader in safe, clean, and reliable energy," said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

Final decisions and definitive agreements regarding the funding and construction of Infinity Two, as well as any agreements to purchase the energy output, are subject to TVA Board approval, regulatory review, and alignment with least-cost planning processes, amongst other things, the authority said.

Type One Energy completed the first formal design review of Infinity Two in May. In February, it signed a cooperative agreement with TVA to jointly develop plans for a potential fusion power plant project in the Tennessee Valley region, and has previously said the Infinity Two could offer a complementary source of baseload electrical generation for the region as early as the mid-2030s.