Marvel Fusion received an additional € 50 million in Series B funding

Recently, Marvel Fusion, which focuses on developing laser fusion energy systems, announced that the company has received an additional € 50 million in Series B funding. This latest investment is provided by EQT Venture Capital and Siemens Energy, and is also the first investment of the European Innovation Council (EIC) fund in fusion energy. In addition to the 63 million euros investment announced in November last year, the total financing amount reaches 385 million euros (including 170 million euros of private investment and 215 million euros of public funding projects).

Marvel Fusion stated that the extension of this round of financing will further support its transition from the research and development phase to industrial deployment. In addition, Marvel Fusion is advancing its industrial partnership with Siemens Energy to jointly develop conceptual designs for fully integrated fusion power plants.

It is reported that Marvel Fusion is currently developing two laser prototypes and increasing laser production by establishing industrial partnerships. Unlike most companies seeking to commercialize laser fusion, Marvel Fusion's approach is based on femtosecond pulses, which it plans to launch onto "nanostructured" fuels to enhance the fusion of protons and boron-11 isotopes.

Through collaboration with Colorado State University, the startup will also build a new $150 million laboratory in Fort Collins with the support of the US Department of Energy's LaserNetUS program, based on public-private partnerships.

It is understood that one of Marvel Fusion's industrial partners is the German company PLT, which was founded in August 2023 with the aim of building two different laser systems over a period of five years and demonstrating their functionality with the help of a demonstrator. PLT was established under the SPRIND innovation program funded by the German government, with the founding goal of developing laser systems that can support the operation of commercially viable fusion power plants.

PLT Chief Technology Officer Antonia Schmalz stated that SPRIND provided initial funding for the first two prototypes, dedicated to supporting Marvel Fusion's path towards large-scale laser production and their further mission of building fusion power plants.

In an article on the SPRIND website, it is pointed out that although the current goal is limited to establishing a demonstration factory, such efforts will still require 10 to 100 sets of laser systems, depending on the specific fusion method. A real power plant is expected to require approximately 500 sets of laser systems.

Source: OFweek