Energy

Mass. company to build world's 1st commercial fusion plant

The process — which combines two small atoms into one — can produce a large amount of energy, but without the radioactive byproduct that results from nuclear fission

By Greg Ryan • Published December 17, 2024 • Updated on December 18, 2024 at 11:29 pm

CFS has been building out a fusion-energy prototype in Devens.

For decades, scientists have chased the limitless zero-carbon energy promised by fusion. Now, Devens-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems plans to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Virginia.

The announcement on Tuesday marks a milestone not just for the MIT spinoff, but the global clean energy industry. The process — which combines two small atoms into one — can produce a large amount of energy, but without the radioactive byproduct that results from nuclear fission, where a large atom is split.

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