MADISON, Wis. and DEVENS, Mass., Apr 02:  Realta Fusion and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) today announced a long-term strategic partnership for the design and manufacturing of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets that Realta will use to accelerate the commercialization of its compact, scalable, modular – CoSMo fusion™ – energy systems.

Realta Fusion and Commonwealth Fusion Systems logos

CFS will develop magnets for Realta’s demonstration prototypes as well as its commercial fusion power plants under the agreement, which has the potential to reach a multi-billion dollar value. The partnership also includes novel talent-sharing of CFS expertise to support the design, manufacturing, deployment, and operation of HTS magnets for magnetic mirror fusion systems.

“Commercializing magnetic mirror fusion systems requires integrating multiple cutting-edge technologies. By working with the world’s leading HTS magnet manufacturer, we are significantly de-risking one of the most critical of these technologies,” said Realta Fusion CEO Kieran Furlong. “Knowing that we can get the magnets we need, when we need them, from the best developed supply chain, is a huge leap forward for Realta.”

This partnership formalizes a long relationship between the Realta and CFS teams that dates back to 2020, when the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) funded the University of Wisconsin-Madison to build the Wisconsin HTS Axisymmetric Mirror (WHAM) experiment. Realta spun out of the WHAM initiative in 2022, and CFS provided WHAM with the HTS magnets used to confine its first plasma at a world-record breaking magnetic field strength of 17 tesla in 2024.

“As the world leader in HTS magnet technology development and manufacturing, we are pleased to share our expertise with Realta, and give our growing industry another promising technological opportunity to bring fusion energy to the grid,” said Bob Mumgaard, CEO and Co-founder of CFS. “This partnership allows Realta to tap into the world-class supply chain we built to support our advanced manufacturing capabilities, and that will help it to bring commercial fusion energy to the grid faster.”