China’s Megacity Shanghai Invests in Nation’s Fusion Energy Push

(Bloomberg) -- A 10 billion-yuan ($1.4 billion) fund created by the Shanghai government will invest in one of the nation’s moonshot projects, a state-backed firm attempting to harness nuclear fusion technology.

The Shanghai Future Industry Fund plans to make a strategic investment in China Fusion Corp., according to a statement on Tuesday, which didn’t specify the amount. It’s the first investment since the fund was created last year.

Shanghai officials announced the fund in September, with financing provided by the city’s department of municipal finance and the goal of promoting innovative and disruptive technologies. It plans early investment in promising, small companies.

More than two dozen of China’s top state-owned energy firms and research institutes formed the fusion company in late 2023 in a bid to lead development of the technology. Dozens of companies in the US, Europe, Japan and elsewhere are seeking to commercialize fusion technology, which will replicate the conditions of a star. The process offers the promise of abundant, clean energy but comes with numerous significant technical challenges.

The fusion firm earlier this year attracted about 1.75 billion yuan in investment from China National Nuclear Corp. and Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power Co. for cutting-edge tokamak devices, which use magnetic fields to confine and control superheated plasma to produce power without emissions or significant radioactive waste. 

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