Accelerating the commercialization process of controllable nuclear fusion, "Star Energy Mystic Light" secures hundreds of millions of yuan in angel round financing | First reported by 36Kr.
Author | Lin Qingqing
Editor | Yuan Silai
36Kr has learned that recently, the controllable nuclear fusion technology company "Star Energy Xuan Guang" has completed a 100 million yuan angel round of financing. This round of financing is led by China Merchants Venture Capital and CAS Star, with Minsheng International, Bo Jiang Capital, Gingko Valley Capital, Tianchuang Capital and individual investors participating, and Titanium Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor.
"Star Energy Xuan Guang" was established in March 2024. Its core technology is based on the advanced field-reversed mirror fusion path proposed by Professor Sun Xuan more than ten years ago. Since 2013, this technology has been practiced and developed in the KMAX-FRC research group of the University of Science and Technology of China. It is reported that this technology enhances the confinement of the plasma by using a tandem mirror, effectively reducing the loss of the plasma and helping to solve the shortcomings of the existing fusion devices in terms of confinement and stability. This improvement helps to improve the efficiency of the fusion reaction, thereby increasing the possibility of developing an economically efficient nuclear fusion power station.
In the context of the global energy transition, the development of controllable nuclear fusion technology is particularly crucial, and the market size of controllable nuclear fusion devices is growing rapidly. According to Keytone Ventures' prediction, the global nuclear fusion market size will increase from 296.4 billion US dollars in 2022 to 395.14 billion US dollars in 2027; from the perspective of the capital market, according to the statistics of the Fusion Industry Association of the United States (FIA), as of June this year, Chinese fusion start-ups have attracted more than 500 million US dollars in investment.
However, although the controllable nuclear fusion technology is highly anticipated, it has not yet crossed the threshold of commercialization. Some voices in the industry predict that "the commercialization of controllable nuclear fusion may be realized within ten years", but the general view is still "no one can say for sure when the end will be reached".
At present, the mainstream fusion device in the world is the Tokamak invented by the Soviet Union. At present, the mainstream technical path in the market is the toroidal Tokamak, whose device structure is similar to a huge doughnut, and the plasma circulates in it, thereby effectively maintaining the stability and high temperature of the plasma. However, due to its density limit, the further improvement of the power generation is limited. In addition, the high construction cost, complex structure and the difficulty of maintaining a stable fusion reaction are still problems to be solved.
Professor Sun Xuan, the founder and chairman of "Star Energy Xuan Guang", told 36Kr that the field-reversed configuration can achieve high-density confinement under a lower magnetic field, and the instability theoretically predicted often does not appear in this configuration, and has always been regarded as a dark horse in the fusion field. In recent years, led by companies such as TAE in the United States and Helion Energy, its fusion potential has received more and more attention.
Specifically, the device of the field-reversed configuration is simple and compact in structure, saving construction costs and cycles, and is conducive to commercial applications; the β value is a parameter that measures the ratio between the plasma pressure and the magnetic field pressure. The high β value characteristic of the field-reversed configuration means that a high-pressure plasma can be stably maintained under a weaker magnetic field condition, improving the efficiency of the fusion reaction; in addition, the fuel adaptability of the field-reversed configuration is strong. It can not only use traditional deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium fuels, but also be compatible with advanced fusion fuels such as deuterium-helium 3 and hydrogen-boron. For example, the charged α particles produced by the hydrogen-boron fusion fuel can improve the efficiency of energy conversion through the direct electrical energy conversion method.
It is worth mentioning that Professor Sun Xuan introduced that although the Field Reversed Configuration (hereinafter referred to as "FRC") has a research history of many years abroad, in China, the research in this field is still relatively scattered and limited. Professor Sun Xuan retranslated FRC into the field-reversed configuration according to the convention of plasma physics terms, and built the first collisional fusion field-reversed configuration device in China. So far, it is the only device that has been publicly reported to have achieved the field-reversed configuration experimentally in China.
In this regard, Dr. Ren Baoming, the chief scientist of "Star Energy Xuan Guang", emphasized: "We have verified the scientific feasibility of our technology on KMAX-FRC, and the company's goal is to achieve fusion using a'smarter solution' than the international field-reversed counterparts."
KMAX device of the University of Science and Technology of China
In terms of the choice of technical route, Yang Zhida, the CEO of "Star Energy Xuan Guang", told 36Kr that compared with the toroidal Tokamak, the advanced field-reversed mirror technology not only has a higher potential for energy output in theory, but also shows lower construction and operation and maintenance costs in practical engineering applications. This has been verified internationally, such as the progress of companies such as Tri Alpha Energy and Helion Energy in this field.
The advanced field-reversed mirror technology adopted by "Star Energy Xuan Guang" is expected to achieve a high-temperature, high-density and long-constraint time operating state through the unique triple-constraint magnetic field environment, that is, the combination of the self-organizing confinement of the field-reversed configuration, the strong magnetic mirror, and the potential barrier to strengthen the axial confinement.
Liu Ming, the CTO of "Star Energy Xuan Guang", introduced that the company is currently designing and building the new generation KMAX-U linear advanced field-reversed mirror device, which is an upgraded version of the KMAX device operated by the University of Science and Technology of China. The KMAX device has been operating for 12 years, with rich technical accumulation. It has been included in the domestic Fusion Museum and has been recognized internationally. The company plans to complete the construction of the new generation device within 6 to 8 months and achieve operation within one year.
"Star Energy Xuan Guang" KMAX-U advanced field-reversed mirror design drawing
Professor Sun Xuan said, "Controllable nuclear fusion is essentially an applied science aimed at solving the energy problem, and the economics of it must be considered in solving the energy problem. The triple-constraint concept of the advanced field-reversed mirror is the solution we first proposed internationally that can accelerate the research and development of fusion energy applications. Its economics will exceed the traditional solution and promote the commercialization of fusion. But more importantly, controllable nuclear fusion is a future science, and its realization can provide conditions for the realization of many future technologies; we may be on the eve of going out of the earth. What is the power source for the future exploration of the universe? I believe that the unique design of the advanced field-reversed mirror will also be an ideal fusion thruster for our future exploration of the universe."
In terms of the team, Professor Sun Xuan, the founder of "Star Energy Xuan Guang", is an expert in advanced field-reversed mirror controllable nuclear fusion. He has more than 30 years of experience in researching magnetically confined fusion and has rich work experience in internationally renowned PPPL Laboratory, LANL Laboratory, and Tri Alpha Energy Fusion Company. The core team members are from the School of Nuclear Science and Technology of the University of Science and Technology of China, and have more than ten years of scientific research and practical experience in the field of field-reversed and magnetic mirror technology.
Investor Views:
China Merchants Venture Capital said: Controllable nuclear fusion technology is of great strategic significance to China and even all mankind. It is a key solution to promote the global energy consumption to a new level, and it is also a core technology that may change the global energy pattern. Governments and social capital from various countries are increasing their investment in fusion technology. As a central enterprise CVC, China Merchants Venture Capital hopes to promote the development of China's fusion industry through the investment in Star Energy Xuan Guang. Professor Sun Xuan is a leading figure in the field of innovative controllable nuclear fusion in China. It is expected that Star Energy Xuan Guang can become a pioneer enterprise in the field of fusion in China, taking the lead in realizing truly commercially feasible fusion power generation and promoting the progress of the times with commercial success.
CAS Star believes: The next technological revolution in the energy field is controllable nuclear fusion as the ultimate energy source. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the field of controllable nuclear fusion globally, and many experimental devices have reached unprecedented parameter levels. With the continuous maturity of the technology and the reduction of costs, the timetable for commercial applications may come earlier than expected. China has a deep accumulation in nuclear fusion research and engineering technology, and has received strong support and investment from the government. In addition to the Tokamak device, China is also actively exploring other technical solutions. The linear field-reversed mirror device adopted by the Star Energy Xuan Guang team is small in size, controllable in cost, and can be quickly iterated and upgraded, and can meet the energy needs in various scenarios in the future. Professor Sun Xuan's team has been working in this direction for many years and has rich scientific research and engineering experience. Rich achievements have been made on the KMAX device. In the future, on the upgraded device KMAX-U, Professor Sun's team will gradually reach the international advanced level and achieve overtaking.
Wu Kai, Managing Director of Titanium Capital, said: After Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, took the lead in investing in Helion Energy, the importance of controllable nuclear fusion for AI computing power has been understood by investors. The investment and financing of controllable nuclear fusion projects in China is also in full swing. However, due to the long-term reliance on the Tokamak nuclear fusion path in China, few other new routes have entered the investment field of vision. The long-term accumulation of the Star Energy Xuan Guang team led by Professor Sun Xuan in the linear advanced field-reversed mirror nuclear fusion route makes it possible to invest in a more potential nuclear fusion route in China. Congratulations to Star Energy Xuan Guang for the oversubscription of the angel round financing in the capital winter. We will also continue to accompany Star Energy Xuan Guang to grow into a towering tree in the field of controllable nuclear fusion.
Tianchuang Capital said: Energy is the foundation of industry. For a country to maintain its leading position in manufacturing, it cannot do without stable, sufficient and cheap energy. As the ultimate energy solution for mankind, nuclear fusion has attracted overseas capital to focus on the layout of technical routes such as Tokamak, field-reversed mirror and stellarator. In particular, American field-reversed mirror enterprises such as TAE and Helion have respectively received hundreds of millions of dollars in investment from AI giants such as Google and Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, and the performance indicators have been rapidly improved year by year through the rapid iteration concept similar to Musk's rocket manufacturing. China cannot do without its own field-reversed mirror technology route. Professor Sun Xuan established the first field-reversed mirror device at the University of Science and Technology of China. After more than ten years of accumulation, it has rich technical and talent reserves, and is very suitable to lead the team to further promote the improvement of the field-reversed mirror technology.