A young fusion firm in Sweden has closed a funding round in its quest to harness the power of the atom.
Novatron Fusion is working toward building a stable and easily manufacturable fusion machine using magnetic confinement. Last week, it closed a €10M funding round to push it into the next stage of development: building a prototype that can create the conditions for fusion.
St1 led the round as a strategic investor. TomEnterprise, Unit E Limited, and Axon Partners Group joined the round as new investors, and existing investors Climentum Capital, Santander InnoEnergy Fund, Granitor, and Industrifonden also participated.
The fusion approach: Novatron, founded in 2019 by current CTO Jan Jäderberg, is pursuing a magnetic confinement fusion concept it claims will provide the stability and symmetry needed for effective plasma confinement and efficient manufacturing—both key challenges to developing commercial fusion.
The company has built and started testing its first prototype, Novatron-1, a plasma confinement device. Next on the timeline is building a fusion prototype, Novatron-2, which is expected to create fusion conditions but not generate energy. The company is targeting 2027 for that machine to begin operations.
Novatron employs ~40 people in Sweden and is setting up US and UK subsidiaries, per FIA.
Keeping it strategic: The fusion landscape is increasingly competitive. While most industry players are still early in R&D, they still need to be considering the ultimate market for the technology. With that goal in mind, Novatron chose to bring on Finnish energy transition company St1 as a strategic partner.
“St1 operates in an industry that needs to transform and has a proven track record of genuinely wanting to accelerate the reshaping of the energy market,” Novatron CEO Peter Roos said in a statement. “As we start preparing for industrialization, we need to secure these types of partners that can contribute with experience, an extensive global network, and a strong position in the energy market.”
As part of its funding announcement, Novatron said that St1 CEO Henrikki Talvitie would join the company’s board of directors.
“We believe that NFG has a game changing formula and as an owner with a long-term mindset, we are excited over this opportunity to help accelerate the work towards limitless fossil-free energy,” Talvitie said.
Lead Reporter of Ignition
