Richmond, BC-based General Fusion is laying off staff, scaling back operations, and searching for additional funding in the wake of “unexpected and urgent financing constraints,” CEO Greg Twinney said in an open letter.
The company is also “actively seeking strategic options” with investors, governments, and potential buyers because of political and financial instability, Twinney claimed.
“Today’s funding landscape is more challenging than ever as investors and governments navigate a rapidly shifting and uncertain political and market climate,” he said.
“We’re not a shiny new start-up with a drawing and a dream; we are experienced fusioneers with a clear view of the path to success and the machine to prove it.”
Greg Twinney
General Fusion CEO
The firm clarified that this included strained trade relations between Canada and the United States (US). While the US Department of Energy (DoE) began collaborating with General Fusion on power plant initiatives in 2022, President Donald Trump has dismantled and blocked clean energy plans. His administration has also proposed budget cuts targeting renewable energy, carbon capture, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
General Fusion spokesperson Danielle Johnson added that investors were “stepping back” and taking action “a lot slower” than before.
In a statement, General Fusion told BetaKit it was looking for $125 million USD (about $172.7 million CAD) to fulfill its goals. While the company didn’t share the scope of the layoffs, The Globe and Mail reported that the company let go of a quarter of staff.
General Fusion created its first magnetized plasma, which is needed for its fusion reactions, at its LM26 demonstration facility in March, and conducted a large-scale test on April 29. It still plans to create plasma at a hotter 10 million C within months, and eventually to reach the 100-million-degree mark needed to achieve a “scientific breakeven equivalent” where LM26 could generate more energy than required for the reaction.
General Fusion signalled to BetaKit that it wants new investments “now” to stay on track. “We don’t want to slow down for long in this global race,” Johnson said.
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The company ultimately hopes to deploy reactors based on its Magnetized Target Fusion technology, which creates fusion conditions in short pulses, by the mid-2030s. The technique theoretically costs less than the lasers or superconducting magnets used in designs like Tokamak reactors, and could be used in facilities close to the cities they serve. One 300-megawatt electrical plant powered by fusion could provide enough continuous power for 150,000 Canadian homes, the company claims.
The company has raised about $440 million CAD so far, including $69 million from the Government of Canada. Some of its private investors include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Shopify founder Tobi Lütke, and engineering consultancy Hatch. Bob Smith, the former CEO of Bezos’s spaceflight company Blue Origin, became a strategic advisor for General Fusion in early April.
Twinney noted that General Fusion has been around since 2002, and argued that his company just needs “the capital to finish the job.”
“We’re not a shiny new startup with a drawing and a dream; we are experienced fusioneers with a clear view of the path to success and the machine to prove it,” he said.
Feature image courtesy of General Fusion.