Funds will accelerate next phase of planar coil magnet array manufacturing, integrated stellarator system modeling, and team growth
PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Thea Energy Inc., a fusion energy company advancing stellarator technology for commercialization, today announced the closing of a $20 million Series A financing. Prelude Ventures led the round with participation from other investors including 11.2 Capital, Anglo American, Hitachi Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Mercator Partners, Orion Industrial Ventures, and Starlight Ventures.
Proceeds from the financing will support the construction and operation of the Company’s proprietary superconducting planar coil magnet array systems, the design and simulation of Eos, Thea Energy’s large-scale integrated neutron source stellarator system, and continued team growth.
“With the support of this distinguished group of investors, we will continue to advance our fusion technology to address the growing energy demands of humanity by providing a clean, safe, and abundant source of fusion power,” said Brian Berzin, co-founder and chief executive officer of Thea Energy. “Company progress on core intellectual property, magnet systems, and the Eos stellarator has proven the determination and know-how of our team. In our next phase, we will be constructing our planar coil magnet systems at scale while further expanding our team of fusion and commercialization experts.”
Concurrent with the close of the Series A financing, Prelude Ventures managing director Mark Cupta will join Thea Energy’s Board of Directors. Mr. Cupta added, “In meeting with the Thea Energy team, it became clear that they are not only leaders in the fields of plasma physics and fusion systems engineering, but also highly passionate about creating a sustainable future. I am thrilled to join as the Company is well positioned to commercialize fusion energy. Thea Energy’s first-generation fusion system, Eos, will show a clear path to deploying fusion power plants and its development is not contingent on further scientific breakthroughs.”
Wolfgang Seibold, partner and chief financial officer at Hitachi Ventures, added, “Fusion energy will play a critical part on the path to a zero-emission future. Thea Energy’s distinctive, simplified magnet system design results in a practical approach to fusion that we are eager to advance together with the team.”
About Thea Energy Inc.
Thea Energy Inc. was founded in 2022 with a focus on leveraging recent breakthroughs in stellarator physics and engineering to create a faster, simpler approach to commercializing fusion energy. Thea Energy is reinventing the stellarator using computer-controlled arrays of planar coils, thus eliminating the intricate, complex modular magnets required in all other proposed stellarator architectures. Stellarators are inherently steady-state, stable magnetic configurations that eliminate disruptions, making them an optimal pilot plant architecture. Thea Energy is building off foundational research and technology development that it spun out of Princeton University and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where the stellarator was first imagined in 1951. Thea Energy’s proprietary breakthroughs have now enabled systems to be simpler and more practical than previously possible, resulting in a system architecture that can scale to long-term commercial operation and maintenance. To learn more about Thea Energy’s mission to create a limitless source of zero emission energy for a sustainable future, visit https://thea.energy/ and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
