Latest news with #RealtaFusion
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Next-gen startup announces groundbreaking $36 million plan to unleash limitless energy device: 'We have a design'
Nuclear fusion — and its potential for abundant, clean energy — has been around for years, and while breakthroughs have been made, up to this point, no one has been able to harness that energy and produce it at scale. But according to TechCrunch, the startup Realta Fusion might be about to change that. Traditional forms of energy generation, like coal and gas, produce massive amounts of planet-warming pollution like carbon dioxide. This supercharges extreme weather events, like floods and drought, that threaten lives and the global food supply. Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, creates no planet-warming pollution while at the same time producing near limitless energy. Realta is looking to harness this energy with what it's calling Anvil, which will use the magnetic mirror concept. This works by confining energized particles, known as plasma, in a symmetrical bottle shape with powerful magnets at each end pushing the plasma toward the center. Weaker magnets will help form a plasma cylinder in the middle. The plasma will reach incredibly high temperatures, and the particles will begin to fuse, releasing a massive amount of energy. Realta has already raised $36 million and is preparing for the next round of investment to help make the Anvil prototype reactor a reality. "By the end of our Series A investment period," Realta co-founder and CEO Kieran Furlong told TechCrunch, "we'll have said, 'Hey, we have a design. We're shovel ready to go and build Anvil.'" Building these complex machines takes a huge upfront investment. Realta hopes to build a power plant that would initially be able to supply power at $100 per megawatt-hour. One megawatt can power roughly 750 to 1,000 homes at once. To build and run a natural gas power plant, it costs anywhere from $45 to $100 per megawatt-hour. Realta hopes to eventually get to the point that it can produce energy at $40 per megawatt-hour as technology improves. Realta is well in its way. Last year, it set a record for a magnetic field confining a plasma. Still, while some scientists are optimistic that this energy can be harnessed within the next decade, others believe it will be much longer before consumers can reap the benefits. While we wait for nuclear fusion to become a viable source of energy on a wide scale, the best way for consumers to get cheap and clean energy is to install solar panels. The process of finding the best deals, as well as any local or federal tax incentives, can seem daunting, but EnergySage provides a free service that will do all of that for you. Should we be harnessing the ocean to power our homes? Absolutely Leave it be It depends I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers unveil bold plan to build game-changing energy device in unexpected location: 'An incredible opportunity for the future'
Wisconsin lawmakers and researchers have found common ground in the idea of making the state into the "Silicon Valley" for nuclear fusion development. A group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been working with local Realta Fusion to make fusion energy a reality, but they're not the only ones, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Three of the 45 companies working on fusion are already based in Wisconsin, and new bills supporting the advancement of this promising clean energy technology could draw even more to the area. Fusion is still theoretical, but advancements are being made daily to bring this nearly limitless energy resource to fruition. It could be the perfect complement for other renewables like solar and wind power, and would help reduce reliance on burning dirty fuels for energy. The process looks to recreate the reactions that occur naturally in our Sun, where two nuclei are combined to form a new atom, giving off energy in the process. It requires complex machinery and temperatures hotter than the sun to create the superheated plasma where these reactions take place. Researchers at the ITER fusion research facility in France claim that key fusion performance parameters have increased by a factor of 10,000 in the last 60 years and are now less than a factor of 10 away from producing successful fusion reactions. It's a cleaner and safer type of nuclear energy that doesn't produce radioactive waste or carbon pollution and isn't prone to runaway reactions that nuclear fission can produce. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers included nuclear energy in his recent budget proposal, and state lawmakers are pushing a package of bills that would lay the groundwork for advancing this technology to help meet rising energy demands statewide, the article explained. Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, is one of those lawmakers supporting the push for fusion development and expansion in the state. "We are already in a deficit position in terms of energy production and next-generation nuclear provides the greatest opportunity for sustainable, clean, safe energy for the people and businesses of Wisconsin," said Steffen, per the article. Should the government be able to control how we heat our homes? Definitely Only if it saves money I'm not sure No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. A newly proposed Microsoft data center is helping to drive the bill package's adoption, considering the enormous amount of energy that will be needed to power it. "We are going to be in a dramatic energy production deficit very soon," Steffen told the outlet. "The Microsoft data center campus will be drawing more power than the entire city of Madison." Fusion plants require a cooling system but use much less water than current nuclear reactors; since they're safer, there will likely need to be less space between them and community populations. "The next generation nuclear is not your father's nuclear," said Steffen. "The plans that are going to be coming online in the next decade are ones that are safer, cleaner, produce less waste. They're smaller." It's "an incredible opportunity for the future," he added, where Wisconsin could have the chance of being at the forefront of a sustainable energy revolution. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
TechCrunch
13-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Realta Fusion taps $36M in fresh funds for its fusion-in-a-bottle reactor
Some fusion companies might be hitting a rough patch, but Realta Fusion is bucking the trend with a new fundraising round it says will allow it to finalize the design of its Anvil prototype reactor. 'By the end of our Series A investment period, we'll have said, 'Hey, we have a design. We're shovel ready to go and build Anvil,'' Kieran Furlong, co-founder and CEO of Realta, told TechCrunch. The company hopes to make sufficient progress this year and next so it can pitch investors on a Series B, which would go toward building the Anvil prototype, Furlong said. Realta raised $36 million in a round led by Future Ventures with participation from other investors, including Avila VC, GSBackers, Khosla Ventures, Mayfield, SiteGround, TitletownTech, and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The startup previously raised $9 million in a seed round led by Khosla Ventures. Last summer, it flipped the switch on a pair of magnets and, within two weeks, set a record for a magnetic field confining a plasma. Fusion has long been proposed as a clean energy source, but so far, only one experiment has been able to hit a major milestone known as scientific breakeven, which describes how much energy fusion reactions are expected to release. That result was still far below what scientists expect a commercial fusion power plant to require. Still, many scientists and engineers are optimistic that commercial fusion power plants will be viable sometime in the next decade. Realta's are among them. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW The startup hopes to build power plants cheaply enough to supply power at $100 per megawatt-hour initially with an eye toward lowering that to $40 per megawatt-hour as it refines its technology. Today, the most efficient natural gas power plants cost around $45 to $105 per megawatt-hour to build and run, according to Lazard. Realta spun out of the University of Wisconsin three years ago. Since then, the team, which is now 18 people, has been working alongside university scientists to develop a reactor concept that's been debated for decades. The concept, known as a magnetic mirror, confines plasma in a symmetrical bottle shape. Powerful magnets at both ends pinch high-energy particles known as plasma, pushing it back toward the center. The magnetic fields expand as they head toward the center, where weaker magnets help form a plasma cylinder in the middle. To scale the reactor's output, the company can add more middle sections, which should be cheaper to manufacture because of the less powerful magnets. If the magnets work as expected, the plasma will reach incredibly high temperatures for long enough that the particles will start to fuse, releasing tremendous amounts of energy in the process. Realta is one of a handful of fusion startups that have emerged in Wisconsin in recent years. As energy demands for data centers have ramped up in the region — including a forthcoming Microsoft facility near Foxconn's infamous project — Badger State politicians have begun mulling legislation to lure the nuclear industry, both fusion and fission. 'The state legislature is definitely paying attention,' Furlong said. 'We've talked to both sides, and we think this is an opportunity for bipartisan work here.' Ultimately, Realta and the rest of the fusion industry need to muscle through the coming years to bring their plans to fruition and, if all goes well, prove that fusion power is viable. 'We've had the Gartner hype cycle. We're kind of coming down the other side now,' Furlong said, referring to a tech industry theory that outlines the adoption and reception of new technologies. 'What we want to avoid is seeing a few companies blow up spectacularly and spoil it for the rest of the industry,' he said. 'We wish everyone success. We all want fusion to succeed. I think we all recognize we've got 40 or 50 companies working on it right now. Obviously, not all of them will survive.'
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Researchers, lawmakers look to turn Wisconsin into the 'Silicon Valley' for nuclear energy
STOUGHTON – Researchers and state lawmakers are hoping to turn Wisconsin into the "Silicon Valley" for nuclear technology research and development, ushering in a new era of clean energy generation for the state. A group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Realta Fusion, a Madison-based nuclear startup, have developed a fusion device in Stoughton that creates the same kind of reaction that fuels the sun and stars. The process is much different than fission, the nuclear reaction that powers current nuclear reactors and the atomic bomb. Fusion is a carbon-free process that relies on heated plasma, a gas made up of hot ions and free-moving electrons. The process doesn't create radioactive waste like current nuclear reactors do, so it eliminates the need to store harmful materials. Wisconsin lawmakers are hoping to work alongside those researchers as they learn about scaling up fusion reactions and create support for companies interested in researching and investing in the technology. Three of the 45 companies working on fusion are already located in Wisconsin, and the new bills could encourage more to come here. Nuclear energy could be one area of compromise for Wisconsin lawmakers, with Gov. Tony Evers including it in his most recent budget proposal, and Republican legislators pushing a package of bills that would lay the groundwork for a new, cleaner type of nuclear energy to meet the rising energy demands statewide. Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, is one of the lawmakers who authored a package of three bills supporting nuclear development in Wisconsin and streamlining the process of locating a new fusion energy plant when the technology is ready. "We are already in a deficit position in terms of energy production and next-generation nuclear provides the greatest opportunity for sustainable, clean, safe energy for the people and businesses of Wisconsin," he said in an interview. The package includes two bills and one resolution in support of nuclear energy, authored by Steffen, Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, and Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin. The resolution contends Wisconsin is a desirable location for nuclear development, and how technology discovered in the state can be used to strengthen national security and provide safe, clean energy. The Senate has approved the resolution, and the Assembly will have its first look at it in an upcoming Committee on Rules meeting The second of the three bills would create a State of Wisconsin Nuclear Power Summit Board and direct the state to host a summit, drawing knowledge to the state. The bill would also allocate funding for the summit. The final bill would direct the Public Service Commission to conduct a nuclear power siting study, to find the best location for a new plant to be erected in the Madison area. The bills have not yet been taken up by committees but could receive hearings as soon as next week. Steffen said a working power plant likely wouldn't go online for nearly a decade. It's important to get the legislative work done now, he said, so that when a company is ready to build a new plant, all of the groundwork has already been laid. Another driver behind the bills is the newly proposed Microsoft center in Mount Pleasant, which will need a large amount of reliable energy, he said. "We are going to be in a dramatic energy production deficit very soon," Steffen said. "The Microsoft data center campus will be drawing more power than the entire city of Madison." Evers' budget also directs the Public Service Commission to conduct a nuclear feasibility study and create an appropriation to fund it, signs that the issue may see some agreement between Republicans and Democrats. But there could be a catch in getting the other bills passed, because of debate over another set of bills focused on energy. Republicans are locked in a fierce debate over energy regulation, with one side supporting the so-called "Right of First Refusal" bill and others supporting the "Energy Reform Act." The second bill would incentivize nuclear energy development in the state, but both largely focus on energy transmission and who gets the first rights to building transmission lines. But as that debate plays out, the interest in nuclear energy still seems like a focus for Wisconsin, both for lawmakers and researchers. In Stoughton, just a few miles south of Madison, Realta Fusion and researchers and students from UW-Madison have been developing a small fusion reactor that has been generating plasma for the last several months successfully. The reactor isn't noisy. Though the reaction isn't visible inside the machine, periodic clicks measure what's happening inside. Nearby, a group of researchers studies charts of the energy being produced. The reactor traps high-energy particles, or plasma, between two magnetic fields and creates fusion reactions. The fusion reaction uses smaller elements, like hydrogen, and fuses them together, instead of breaking larger elements like fission does, said Dominick Bindl, the vice president of technical development for Realta. The process of fusion is much cleaner than fission, Bindl said, and there aren't any radioactive waste left behind, making it safer and environmentally friendly. "After you complete the fusion between two isotopes of hydrogen, you make helium and no long-lived radioactive waste," he said. "It's emissions-free. There are no carbon emissions from the formation of this energy." And because the fusion reaction creates "dense" energy when a plant is eventually built, it will contain all the fuel needed for 30 years of operation, Bindl said. Once the reactor is turned on, it will run constantly and be able to feed into the energy grid. There won't be a need to establish a new grid or add in supporting technology. "You turn it on, and it just runs," he said. A plant would require a cooling system, but less so than the current nuclear reactors, which have to be sited near bodies of water and require large amounts. The companies are currently studying the reactions in Stoughton to figure out how far away from communities fusion reactors would have to be, but there will likely be less space to consider because the reactions are safer. This technology is vastly different than the reactors that melted down in Chernobyl. Realta is doing work to ensure that people understand the difference between fission and fusion, and will work diligently to educate and assure people if they're worried or scared. "There's no such thing as a fusion runaway reaction," Bindl said. "That's where we spend a lot of time engaging with the community on educating the community as to what fusion is, what the risks are, and how we will manage those risks to ensure that when we have fusion technologies available to deploy energy, people want those solutions." Steffen is well aware that there is hesitancy around nuclear energy from the public. Recent television shows about the Chernobyl explosion have brought those worries to the forefront again, and environmental groups routinely push back on the state's current reactors in Kewaunee and at Point Beach near Two Rivers over worries about pollution in Lake Michigan from the nuclear waste storage. But he encourages residents to learn more about fusion, and how much safer it really is. "The next generation nuclear is not your father's nuclear," he said. "The plans that are going to be coming online in the next decade are ones that are safer, cleaner, produce less waste. They're smaller." This is "an incredible opportunity for the future," he said, and Wisconsin has the chance to be at the forefront of the research and implementation of this new technology. With investors like Bill Gates supporting fusion, it's sure to grow by leaps and bounds in the coming decade. If the bills proposed in the Legislature are all passed, Wisconsin will be steps ahead of other states and already know where there's space to put a plant. Capitalizing on this opportunity now gives the opportunity to cement the state as a place where nuclear research and development is welcome and encouraged, Steffen said. It's an opportunity that doesn't exist for solar or wind energy. While the state can purchase those products, it's unlikely that Wisconsin will become a leader in those areas. "Wisconsin already is considered a leader on fusion technology, and we do have arguably the world's best nuclear engineering program, and we are already a recognized international hub for nuclear technology, especially next-generation nuclear," Steffen said. "We have the opportunity to capitalize that and make Wisconsin and Dane County in particular the Silicon Valley of next generation." Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@ and on X @SchulteLaura. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Could Wisconsin become the 'Silicon Valley' of nuclear fusion?
