Germany-based startup Focused Energy has raised an additional $11m in Series A funding, bringing total funding to $82m. Focused Energy, spun off from the Technical University of Darmstadt in 2021, has facilities in Darmstadt and in Austin/Texas. The capital will be used for further research and commercialisation of inertial nuclear fusion. The company’s approach is based on the method developed at the US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which in December 2022 produced the first net energy gain from nuclear fusion.
In May, Focused Energy was one of only eight companies receive funding from the US Department of Energy Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program with a grant of $3m. It was also received a $50m SPRIN-D award from the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation for the development of laser fusion infrastructure over the next five years. A further $3m came from the German state of Hesse. The latest funding round was led by Prime Movers Lab, and included previous investors VCP Capital and Tony Florence.
Focused Energy co-founder & CSO Professor, Markus Roth, said:
"Two of the world's most innovative countries believe in our approach and are backing the work and research of our teams." Prime Movers Lab Founder & General Partner and Focused Energy Chairman Dakin Sloss noted that continued technical progress and support from the US and German governments “proves that this team is the most likely to commercialise laser-based fusion energy with economically competitive power plants”. He added: “I spend more time working with the Focused Energy team than any other company because I believe it has the greatest potential to transform billions of lives delivering on the promise of abundant sustainable energy."
Image: Focused Energy's Chief Science Officer Markus Roth (left) and CEO Thomas Forner (right) - courtesy of Focused Energy
