Pacific Fusion, a well-funded fusion energy startup, broke ground this week on a $1 billion research and manufacturing campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The facility, located in the Mesa del Sol development, will host the company first Demonstration System — a machine designed to prove that inertial confinement fusion can produce net energy gain.
The campus is expected to create more than 200 high-paying jobs and generate an estimated $1.17 billion in economic impact over a decade. Pacific Fusion also announced a partnership with the US Department of Energy, which will provide technical expertise and access to national laboratory resources.
The company, which raised over $1 billion in its Series A round, uses a pulsed-power approach to fusion that differs from the magnetic confinement strategy pursued by competitors like Commonwealth Fusion Systems and TAE Technologies. CEO Eric Lerner said the demonstration system is expected to be operational by 2028.
The groundbreaking comes amid a surge of investment in fusion energy. The global fusion industry raised $4.48 billion in the past year — the highest total in the six-year history of industry tracking. Commonwealth Fusion Systems recently raised $1 billion in an extension round, bringing its total funding to $4 billion.
