The Company is establishing the first domestic production lines of modular HTS magnets
KEARNY, N.J. — Thea Energy, Inc., a technology company advancing the stellarator for the commercialization of an abundant source of baseload fusion power, today announced the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has recently selected the Company for a $20 million award as part of the Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program.
With this funding, Thea Energy is scaling its manufacturing and test capabilities to support the first domestic production line of modular high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets. The Company’s core magnet technologies are being actively scaled across the fusion landscape as well as adjacent technology sectors that utilize compact, efficient, high-performance HTS magnet systems. Over the past two years, Thea Energy has developed its foundational HTS magnet technologies. The Company has also validated the performance of these magnets and the manufacturing technologies that prime them for high-volume, efficient production.
“Our magnets are designed to be mass manufactured and in just a couple of years, we’ve iterated these coils over a hundred times, finalized the design, and derisked this core technology, positioning us for this next phase – manufacturing scale up,” said Brian Berzin, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thea Energy. “We will utilize approximately 300 of these planar shaping coils in our first large-scale integrated stellarator system, ‘Eos’. Expanding our capabilities and the use of our superconducting magnets across the fusion industry will accelerate commercialization of various system architectures. Ultimately, this same high-performance technology is also primed to revolutionize adjacent industries beyond fusion. SCALEUP allows us to expand this business with our initial partners and customers interested in powerful HTS magnets produced via scalable, efficient processes.”
Following a competitive review, awardees were chosen based on technical maturity and commercial scalability of key innovations that strengthen domestic energy supply chains. SCALEUP focuses on the next generation of energy and ways to accelerate technologies from portfolio toward market adoption. The SCALEUP program provides funding to previous ARPA-E awardees, including Thea Energy as a spin-out of Princeton University and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Thea Energy’s planar coil technology was developed as part of the ARPA-E Breakthroughs Enabling THermonuclear-fusion Energy (BETHE) program. For more details on the SCALEUP program and full list of awardees, visit: arpa-e.energy.gov
Dr. Dave Nye, SCALEUP Federal Lead, added, “ARPA-E’s mission is to develop technologies that deliver affordable, reliable, secure energy for all Americans. Thea Energy has validated its magnets and outlined a clear strategy to scale the consistent, high-yield fabrication of these coils. Modular, factory-built magnet components will enable the rapidly growing fusion power industry to create power at unprecedented scale.”
This award comes on the heels of Thea Energy’s $100 million Series B capital raise, HTS magnet validation campaign, and “Helios” power plant design review, representing a series of milestones that establish Thea Energy as a leader in commercial fusion.
About Thea Energy, Inc.
Thea Energy, Inc. is commercializing scalable and economical fusion energy systems via its planar coil stellarator architecture. Thea Energy’s stellarator power plants will uniquely provide an abundant and safe source of zero-emission energy for the future of humanity. The Company has utilized arrays of mass-manufacturable magnets and dynamic software controls to reinvent the stellarator.
Thea Energy spun out of Princeton University and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in 2022 to commercialize the stellarator, a mature magnetic confinement fusion architecture. The Company was selected as an inaugural awardee of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program following a detailed merit review process. Thea Energy is also supported via six Department of Energy INFUSE awards and an ARPA-E SCALEUP award. Thea Energy is currently collaborating with leading national labs, academic institutions, and industrial partners to commercialize fusion energy on the fastest and most efficient path.
To learn more about Thea Energy’s mission, visit thea.energy and follow us on LinkedIn and X .
Contact
Madeline Joanis
maddy@thea.energy
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