Google has entered into an agreement with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity from CFS’s Arc fusion power plant. The plant, expected to be operational in the early 2030s, marks Google’s first fusion power deal. In parallel, Google is investing in CFS as part of a new funding round.
The funding round is projected to be “comparable” to the Series B round in 2021, according to CFS co-founder and CEO Bob Mumgaard. The Series B round garnered $1.8 billion, with Google participating. CFS has secured the most funding of any fusion startup. Mumgaard stated that the investment will facilitate accelerated R&D for Arc.
CFS is currently constructing a demonstration reactor called Sparc, located outside of Boston, with completion expected in 2026. The commercial power plant, Arc, will be located near Richmond, Virginia.
This agreement follows Microsoft’s 2023 commitment to purchase power from Helion’s first commercial power plant, slated to come online in 2028. Like other hyperscalers, Google is seeking new sources of electricity to meet increasing data center power demands, which are expected to double by the end of the decade.
Michael Terrell, Google’s head of advanced energy, stated that Google’s energy investments span three time horizons. The company initially prioritized solar, wind, and batteries. Further out, investments include geothermal and small modular nuclear reactors, evidenced by investments in Fervo Energy and Kairos Power.
Terrell categorized fusion energy within the long-term investment category. Google procured 8 gigawatts of renewable power in 2024, doubling the 2023 purchase volume but Terrell noted the necessity of other power sources to ensure 24/7 data center operations.
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An alternative approach involves overbuilding wind and solar capacity; however, Terrell explained that this can be a costly solution. He added that technologies like fusion could reduce the overall cost of achieving high penetrations of carbon-free energy. “If you have these clean, firm technologies — even if they’re more expensive on a per megawatt-hour basis — if you’re sort of folding those into the portfolio, it actually brings your overall portfolio costs down,” Terrell said.
Terrell cited that wind and solar, coupled with storage, are viable in regions with strong resources, such as the Midwest and Southwest. However, he acknowledged that traditional renewables may not be as effective in areas like the Southeastern U.S. and many countries in the Asia-Pacific region due to cloud cover or fragmented power grids.
Mumgaard expressed confidence in CFS’s ability to deliver power to Google within a decade, anticipating increased demand for fusion power upon successful demonstration. “It doesn’t depend on geography or weather, doesn’t depend on access to special materials. It’s something that you could run 24/7,” Mumgaard stated. “We expect that fusion can have a really big payoff because once it’s shown that you can do this and you have a first power plant up and running, you could scale it. You could build this around the world.”
