Richmond, BC-based General Fusion has tapped a well-known private space industry leader to guide its efforts to commercialize fusion reactors.
The company is enlisting Bob Smith, the former CEO of Jeff Bezos’s spaceflight company Blue Origin, as a strategic advisor. He will help shape General Fusion’s “technology development and strategic growth,” according to a company statement.
Smith stated he believed fusion would represent the “last energy source humanity will ever need.”
Before Blue Origin, Smith held leadership positions at aerospace and science companies including United Space Alliance, Sandia Labs, and Honeywell. That experience with cutting-edge technology will be “invaluable” as General Fusion moves toward supplying power by the mid-2030s, claimed CEO Greg Twinney.
Smith stated he had been tracking fusion energy development “closely” during his career, and believed that the technology would represent the “last energy source humanity will ever need.” He also saw fusion as key to reducing carbon emissions and dealing with the “worst consequences of climate change.”
General Fusion started operations at its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) technology demonstrator in March. Where most fusion energy projects use lasers or superconducting magnets to generate fusion-encouraging plasma for as long as possible, General Fusion is counting on a concept known as magnetized target fusion. If successful, this will use mechanical compression to produce fusion in short pulses, which the company claims will help keep costs low and eventually allow reactors to be located closer to the cities they will serve.
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Smith left Blue Origin in September 2023 amid concerns the company wasn’t progressing as quickly as its main rival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX. While Blue Origin accomplished multiple goals during Smith’s tenure, such as launching its first crewed mission in 2021, its New Glenn heavy lifting rocket didn’t launch until January 2025. That’s years behind SpaceX, which first launched Falcon Heavy in 2018.
The company still has multiple milestones to reach before its fusion technique is practical, including reaching a “scientific breakeven equivalent” temperature where the energy output is equal to the necessary heating. It also has yet to outline how it will incorporate the technology into working power plants.
General Fusion has raised $440 million CAD so far through public and private channels, with $69 million of that coming through the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund. In March, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson characterized the company as a “powerful innovator” that maintained Canada’s reputation for spearheading nuclear science.
Former Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith. Image courtesy of General Fusion.