Renaissance Fusion, a Grenoble-based startup has been working on a nuclear fusion technology for some time now. The company recently announced a raise of €15 million ($16.4 million) in a seed funding round led by Lowercarbon Capital with participation from HCVC, Positron Ventures and Norrsken.
The company says it intends to use the funds raised to expand operations and its R&D efforts to commercialize the technology.
Renaissance Fusion
Founded two years ago, Renaissance Fusion is the first magnetic confinement fusion startup in Europe. The company is currently focused on developing elements that can be used in nuclear fusion reactors.
Nuclear fusion is the production of energy by the collision of light atoms. Nuclear fusion has the potential to produce a nearly limitless supply of cheap, clean energy.
By Nuclear fusion, we can generate electricity by harnessing the power of an artificial star on Earth, Unlike the existing nuclear reactor which uses nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion has many advantages over our current energy sources because it emits no carbon, sulfur, or nitrogen pollutants.
“We have a pretty unique technology. Instead of designing complicated three-dimensional coils to generate a magnetic field, Renaissance Fusion greatly simplifies this process by drawing tracks on a cylinder” Francesco Volpe – Renaissance Fusion founder.
What Is A Stellarator?
Renaissance is constructing stellarators, which it referred to as “the most efficient, steady, and stable fusion reactors on earth,” to demonstrate net fusion electricity. Stella is the Latin word for star. These stellarators produce strong magnetic fields, enabling smaller reactors to achieve the same performance just as the larger ones.
“Three main approaches are close to demonstrating net fusion electricity. Laser fusion compresses a capsule to very high pressures using powerful lasers. Tokamaks and stellarators are doughnut-shaped devices that magnetically levitate hot ionized gases (plasmas) and heat them to temperatures hotter than the Sun,” as explained on the company’s website.
Renaissance Fusion expects to start selling both technologies by the end of 2024, while they are now in the pre-revenue stage. Francesco Volpe, the company’s founder, claims that, with only slight adjustments, whenever you need a strong magnetic field, a large volume and high precision, such as MRI and energy storage.
“We are proud to support Francesco Volpe and his team in the emergence and industrialization in France and Europe of a disruptive solution in energy production and distribution technologies. Grenoble is a highly strategic location that allows them to benefit from a favourable environment for the development of nuclear energy, a strong ecosystem such as the CEA, and an unrivalled pool of talent,” Alexis Houssou, Founder and Managing Partner at HCVC said in a statement.
