Our Approach
Transforming the world’s energy supply with commercial fusion energy.
In the past 20 years, we have achieved significant developmental and technical milestones on our mission to deliver practical fusion energy.
We’ve demonstrated success in scaling technologies, creating the pathway to integrate, deploy and commercialize our Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology.
In 2002, Canadian physicist Dr. Michel Laberge first started General Fusion on Bowen Island in British Columbia. He set out to develop a commercially-viable approach to fusion energy using Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology.
Dr. Laberge built a small-scale prototype demonstrating shockwave compression of a plasma to generate neutrons. It proved that the prototype successfully created a fusion reaction using our unique and practical MTF approach.
Parts of the prototype are currently on display at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa.
Our first plasma injector was designed, built and commissioned over the course of 12 months.
We were the first in the world to design, build and commission a compact toroid plasma injector at power plant scale.
Our liquid metal compression tests validated the engineering of our system and the synchronization of pistons. The tests confirmed a key benefit of our MTF approach – the liquid metal liner – to overcoming one of the barriers to commercial fusion.
We achieved sufficient plasma performance to heat when compressed.
Pictured is a graph showing the aggregate of a series of uncompressed shots providing critical insight into ion dynamics. The neutron rate is decaying exponentially from the post-formation peak.
During compression, the neutron rate increases significantly compared to the uncompressed case.
Our plasma compression field tests substantiated our plasma stability models and showed increased neutron yield under compression, demonstrating the viability of a stable fusion process using our MTF approach.
We brought together plasma and liquid lithium, integrating two key components of our technology, and demonstrated our plasma lifetime is maintained within the liquid metal wall cavity. The wall is designed to absorb neutrons and protect the machine from fusion damage, breed fuel and provide efficient heat transfer.
Our compression test bed successfully compressed a liquid cavity with symmetry and controlled shape sufficient to achieve fusion conditions. This milestone marked another significant step toward our goal of commercializing fusion energy using our MTF technology.
Our plasma and compression prototypes exceeded core technology performance targets, supporting our goal of achieving fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius in our integrated MTF demonstration.
Our plasma injector exceeded requirements with a 10-millisecond self-sustaining energy confinement time. We are creating the plasmas we need, achieving the target confinement time without requiring active magnetic stabilization, auxiliary heating, or a conventional divertor.
Our compression system prototype validated five millisecond compression time for large scale MTF demonstration. This is sufficient for the thermal confinement times already achieved within our existing plasma prototypes.
Today we are designing and building LM26, an integrated demonstration of our MTF technology, to achieve fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius by 2025, and progress toward scientific breakeven equivalent by 2026.
In 2023, we achieved symmetrical compression of a solid lithium ring – a necessary step to scaling up for the LM26 compression system.
Our team then completed the assembly of a critical testbed 1/5th the scale of LM26’s compression system. The testbed, called Prototype 0, will validate our computer models using an electromagnetic “theta pinch” coil to compress a solid lithium liner to de-risk and inform the design of the full-scale system.
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Media Inquiries
Our Chief Strategy Officer Megan Wilson shared the secret to our success with Science Magazine journalist Daniel Clery. We “incrementally improve very quickly, to iterate on our plan, to learn, and to move on to get results.” In the article, Megan,
“We need clean, baseload power that is free of both carbon dioxide and methane emissions, that’s reliable and affordable.” Our Chief Strategy Officer Megan Wilson spoke with CNN technology reporter Clare Duffy about the transformative potential of fusion energy as
Our plasma injector is ready. We’ve integrated the compression system. The fusion vessel is installed. After a busy few months and an incredible effort by our team, the Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) assembly is complete! “This world-first machine embodies over
Scientific results demonstrate the company’s achievements in creating fusion through MTF, providing foundation for its LM26 fusion demonstration, which will begin compressing large-scale plasmas in early 2025 to achieve transformative milestones RICHMOND, British Columbia (November 22, 2024): General Fusion has
Economist science & technology editor Geoffrey Carr looks at what’s to come in the race to commercialize clean fusion energy – a potentially landmark year in the real-world demonstration of fusion technologies. The article highlights our LM26 fusion machine, which
“General Fusion is aiming to squish plasma together not with fancy magnets or lasers or other exotic parts, but with pistons a bit like the ones in a car engine. The company is hoping to demonstrate the feasibility of its
A sustainable and economical path to net-zero carbon emissions is within our grasp.
