Italy's Eni in $1 Billion Supply Deal for U.S. Fusion

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Eni SpA (Rome, Italy) announced Monday it made an offtake agreement valued at more than $1 billion to ensure fusion power from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (Devens, Massachusetts).

Eni said it secured energy from the 400-megawatt (MW) fusion power plant operated by Commonwealth Fusion in Virginia. The plant could be connected to the grid by the start of the 2030s.

"As energy demand grows, Eni supports the development of fusion power as a new energy paradigm capable of producing clean, safe and virtually inexhaustible energy," Eni's chief executive officer Claudio Descalzi said Monday. "This international partnership confirms our commitment to making fusion energy a reality, promoting its industrialization for a more sustainable energy future."

Fusion, which is when two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus, is the process that drives the sun at the center of our planetary system, creating huge amounts of carbon-free energy.

Eni is a strategic shareholder in Commonwealth Fusion after making a major investment in the company in 2018. By 2023, both sides signed a framework agreement that outlined operational and technical support for the fusion project.

Commonwealth Fusion, an offshoot of the fusion research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, believes it has the fastest path to commercializing fusion power, but the field is becoming crowded.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in France is making significant progress, with fusion experiments slated for 2035. Backed by funding from the European Union, the $32 billion project already has created 2,000 jobs.

Industrial Info in tracking 28 capital nuclear power projects in France, worth US$98.9 billion. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

Eni's deal, meanwhile, coincided with the release of an annual analysis of the nuclear power industry from the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, which found the sector may be facing a period of chronic under-investments. Even as some major economies rush to shore up fossil fuels, the report found that investments in renewable energy were 21 times more than for nuclear power last year.

Bob Mumgaard, the CEO at Commonwealth Fusion, was undeterred, saying the support from major industry backers was a testament to the future potential for fusion, which could be a near-limitless form of power.

"It is a big vote of confidence to have Eni, who has contributed to our execution since the beginning, buy the power we intend to make in Virginia," he said.

Commonwealth Fusion already secured a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google to secure half of the planned capacity from the Virginia plant in what was the tech company's first-ever investment in fusion energy.

Neither Eni nor Google revealed the financial terms of their respective agreements.

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