US Fusion Firm Orders Record 10,000Km Of Superconducting Tape From Japan's Fujikura

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the US private fusion company, has placed the largest single purchase order of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape with Japan's Fujikura to speed up the rollout of its ARC fusion power plants.

The tape will go into the magnets for ARC plants, starting with the first grid-scale facility at the Fall Line Fusion Power Station in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

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Fujikura is investing in expanding its manufacturing capacity to deliver at that scale.

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Brandon Sorbom, chief science officer and co-founder of CFS, said the company expects to connect the Virginia plant to the grid in the early 2030s.

The company, however, didn't disclose the financial terms.

It also declined to say how much tape each ARC machine will ultimately need, but said Fujikura will be a“substantial supplier” for the plants.

“This partnership with Fujikura demonstrates how we're actively placing orders and getting ready to execute our ARC power plant,” said Bob Mumgaard, CEO and co-founder of CFS.

Sorbom said Sparc, which is nearly complete, will be switched on in 2027.

CFS would then commission its systems“as fast as possible” After that, he said, the company will“hit the accelerator pedal” on building ARC, taking deliveries of tape and other components.

Deliveries under the new agreement could begin within the next one to two years, Sorbom said. The tape is already being produced at Fujikura's factory in Japan, where manufacturing will remain.

Founded in 2018, CFS has raised $4 billion in capital. It announced a $1 billion fundraise in late July.

Expansion of partnership

Fujikura is not a new supplier. Its tape is already in the Sparc magnets being assembled, and the company has supported CFS's research and development. Sorbom said the new deal expands a partnership that began years ago.

For scale, he said Sparc contains about 1.5 GA-m of tape, roughly half the amount in the new order.

Sorbom said that when CFS began building Sparc, it was“more or less starting from scratch” in finding partners. This time, many Sparc suppliers are being asked to scale up for ARC, and CFS is in talks with vendors over other ARC components. Its supply chain now includes more than 1,000 suppliers in over 30 countries.

“This collaboration underscores how the delivery of fusion power is becoming an industrial effort, not simply a scientific one,” Sorbom said.

Naoki Okada, president and CEO of Fujikura, said the agreement would strengthen the company's position as a key HTS tape supplier for ARC plants.

He described it as“a long-term business platform for the 2030s and beyond”, when commercial fusion plants are expected to begin operating.

The companies also called the deal an important step in US-Japan collaboration on the industrial ecosystem needed for commercial fusion.

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