Google wants to buy power that doesn’t exist yet from a technology that may not work. The tech giant announced plans Monday, June 30, to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity produced through nuclear fusion from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a startup spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Fusion energy promises to replicate the same nuclear process that powers the sun and stars. Rather than generating heat by splitting atoms like conventional nuclear fission power, fusion combines atoms. Commonwealth aims to deliver the electricity from its first commercial plant in Virginia by the early 2030s.
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Google’s bet on nuclear fusion marks another development in the tech industry’s pursuit of new power sources as artificial intelligence data centers drive unprecedented electricity demand. While fusion offers the allure of virtually unlimited clean energy, Google is taking a big risk because so far, no fusion energy venture has been able to generate more energy than it consumes in the process of initiating a nuclear reaction.
“Commercializing fusion is immensely challenging, and success is not guaranteed,” Google’s Head of Advanced Energy, Michael Terrell, wrote in the company’s announcement. “But if it works, it could change the world by providing a more secure and clean energy future.”
What is Google’s nuclear fusion agreement?
Google signed what it’s calling the largest power purchase agreement for fusion energy, committing to buy 200 megawatts of electricity from the Commonwealth’s plant planned for Chesterfield County, Virginia. The companies did not disclose any financial details of the deal.
The agreement also gives Google options to purchase power from future fusion plants built by Commonwealth. The power purchase agreement builds on previous funding Google provided to Commonwealth in 2021 for the company’s $1.8 billion demonstration reactor, currently under construction in Massachusetts.
Commonwealth is developing fusion technology using superconducting magnets arranged in a donut-shaped device called a tokamak. The magnets control plasma heated to over 100 million degrees Celsius, creating conditions where atomic nuclei fuse and release energy that can be captured to generate electricity.
Why is nuclear fusion a risky bet?
The fundamental challenge facing Commonwealth and every other fusion company is proving their technology can produce more energy than it consumes.
Commonwealth is currently building its demonstration plant, known as SPARC, in Massachusetts. The company wants to prove SPARC can achieve a net energy gain before transitioning to commercial-scale fusion at its Virginia plant. Even if SPARC succeeds, the company will face additional engineering challenges in bringing the technology to commercial use.
Google’s investment is intended to make the process more feasible. Terrell wrote that the partnership will “add momentum” to commercialization and added that “recent breakthroughs have moved CFS closer” to the net energy-gain milestone.
How does this fit into Big Tech’s energy strategy?
Tech companies are scrambling to secure power sources for data centers as artificial intelligence applications drive electricity demand to unprecedented levels. Nuclear power is one of the most popular options, but up until now, the deals have primarily focused on nuclear fission. Nuclear power allows tech companies to run data centers 24 hours a day while not relying on coal or natural gas.
Last month, Meta announced a power purchase agreement with a nuclear plant in Illinois, which was once slated for closure, that will keep it running through 2047. In 2024, Microsoft struck a deal to reopen a unit at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, Amazon announced nuclear deals, and Google initiated a partnership with Kairos Power to develop small modular reactors that are expected to come online in 2030.
