Google signs fusion power deal

Last week Google signed a 200 megawatt nuclear power agreement with Commonwealth Fusion System (CFS). Part of the power agreement is that Google will invest in CFS's latest capital-raising round.

Current nuclear reactors use fission to create energy, but fusion is considered the holy grail for energy production.

Fission is a process that breaks heavy atoms into lighter ones, but it creates a lot of radioactive waste. Fusion is the process that combines light atoms to make heavier ones; it is also the process that powers our sun. Fusion is significantly more powerful than fission and doesn't create nearly as much radioactive waste.

Fusion sounds amazing, but the first power plant is only expected to come online in the early 2030s, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that timeline pushed out past 2040. This technology has always been "just around the corner".

Michael Terrell, Google's head of advanced energy, said that Google thinks of its energy investments across three time horizons. In the short term, the company has prioritised solar, wind, and batteries. A bit further out, it's betting on geothermal and small modular nuclear reactors. Nuclear fusion is a long-term source.

These near-impossible technologies are only possible when researchers have access to deep pockets for a long period of time. So it's good to see Google getting involved.