A rendering of the Commonwealth Fusion Systems nuclear fusion plant proposed to be built in Chesterfield. The company recently filed a request for zoning approval of the project. (BizSense file)
A massive and potentially historic nuclear fusion energy project in Chesterfield is kicking off the process of securing local zoning approval.
Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems recently filed for a conditional-use permit needed for the multibillion-dollar power plant it wants to build on a 94-acre property at 1201 Battery Brooke Parkway.
CFS’s goal is for the Chesterfield project to be the first commercial nuclear fusion plant in the world, and the project is currently anticipated to break ground in the late 2020s, CFS spokeswoman Christine Dunn said in an email Friday.
The zoning application was received by the county last week. The request is slated to be reviewed by the Planning Commission before a final vote by the Board of Supervisors.
Ann Neil Cosby of law firm GreeneHurlocker is representing CFS in the zoning approval process, and Timmons Group is the project’s engineer, according to the application materials.
In addition to a conditional-use permit from Chesterfield, the project also needs state and federal approvals.
The 400-megawatt plant, which is known as ARC and is expected to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 150,000 homes, would be built on land owned by Dominion Energy. Dunn said that CFS has signed an option-to-lease agreement for the site.
The plant is anticipated to be operational in the early 2030s with about 150 full-time employees when it opens.
A map of the property where Commonwealth Fusion Systems intends to build its 400-megawatt nuclear fusion plant in Chesterfield. (County documents)
The formal zoning request follows the startup’s March announcement that it had started the assembly of the SPARC, its prototype fusion machine, with the installation of a 75-ton, stainless steel base for the device. The machine is taking shape at the company’s campus in Devens, Massachusetts.
The SPARC is a machine called a tokamak, which is a donut-shaped device that uses magnetic fields to create plasma particles hot enough to fuse together, creating the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. The company’s tokamak is intended to generate net fusion power, and its success would be a step closer to CFS’s ultimate goal of an full-on fusion plant in Chesterfield.
Dunn said last week that the SPARC was “60 percent complete,” and that CFS expects it will start to produce plasma next year.
CFS has previously shared that it plans to sell the Chesterfield plant’s power to large commercial and industrial customers. The fusion plant would connect to the electrical grid and CFS would sell power through PJM, a regional power transmission organization that runs an electrical power market in 13 states, including Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
Nuclear fusion is pitched as a renewable clean energy solution because it does not result in long-lived, highly radioactive waste associated with the operation of nuclear fission plants and doesn’t create pollution. It involves the collision and fusion of atomic nuclei, and the reaction that takes place is how the sun generates energy.
The re-creation of the process at a commercial scale with manmade technology has been the subject of research for decades, and CFS and other companies around the world are in a race to be the first to the finish line.
CFS refers to itself as the world’s largest private fusion company. It was founded in 2018 when it was spun out of MIT as a business venture to commercialize fusion power. The company says it has more than 1,000 employees and has raised more than $2 billion from investors since it was founded.
CFS announced the Chesterfield project late last year, and during the announcement event Gov. Glenn Youngkin described the plant as a “multi-billion-dollar” project. The company declined to share a cost estimate for the project last week, saying that the project’s design and development plans were still being finalized.
Earlier this month, Axios reported that CFS has raised more than $1 billion in an ongoing capital raise set to close in the summer, and that the funding is earmarked for the Chesterfield project.
A rendering of the Commonwealth Fusion Systems nuclear fusion plant proposed to be built in Chesterfield. The company recently filed a request for zoning approval of the project. (BizSense file)
A massive and potentially historic nuclear fusion energy project in Chesterfield is kicking off the process of securing local zoning approval.
Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems recently filed for a conditional-use permit needed for the multibillion-dollar power plant it wants to build on a 94-acre property at 1201 Battery Brooke Parkway.
CFS’s goal is for the Chesterfield project to be the first commercial nuclear fusion plant in the world, and the project is currently anticipated to break ground in the late 2020s, CFS spokeswoman Christine Dunn said in an email Friday.
The zoning application was received by the county last week. The request is slated to be reviewed by the Planning Commission before a final vote by the Board of Supervisors.
Ann Neil Cosby of law firm GreeneHurlocker is representing CFS in the zoning approval process, and Timmons Group is the project’s engineer, according to the application materials.
In addition to a conditional-use permit from Chesterfield, the project also needs state and federal approvals.
The 400-megawatt plant, which is known as ARC and is expected to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 150,000 homes, would be built on land owned by Dominion Energy. Dunn said that CFS has signed an option-to-lease agreement for the site.
The plant is anticipated to be operational in the early 2030s with about 150 full-time employees when it opens.
A map of the property where Commonwealth Fusion Systems intends to build its 400-megawatt nuclear fusion plant in Chesterfield. (County documents)
The formal zoning request follows the startup’s March announcement that it had started the assembly of the SPARC, its prototype fusion machine, with the installation of a 75-ton, stainless steel base for the device. The machine is taking shape at the company’s campus in Devens, Massachusetts.
The SPARC is a machine called a tokamak, which is a donut-shaped device that uses magnetic fields to create plasma particles hot enough to fuse together, creating the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. The company’s tokamak is intended to generate net fusion power, and its success would be a step closer to CFS’s ultimate goal of an full-on fusion plant in Chesterfield.
Dunn said last week that the SPARC was “60 percent complete,” and that CFS expects it will start to produce plasma next year.
CFS has previously shared that it plans to sell the Chesterfield plant’s power to large commercial and industrial customers. The fusion plant would connect to the electrical grid and CFS would sell power through PJM, a regional power transmission organization that runs an electrical power market in 13 states, including Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
Nuclear fusion is pitched as a renewable clean energy solution because it does not result in long-lived, highly radioactive waste associated with the operation of nuclear fission plants and doesn’t create pollution. It involves the collision and fusion of atomic nuclei, and the reaction that takes place is how the sun generates energy.
The re-creation of the process at a commercial scale with manmade technology has been the subject of research for decades, and CFS and other companies around the world are in a race to be the first to the finish line.
CFS refers to itself as the world’s largest private fusion company. It was founded in 2018 when it was spun out of MIT as a business venture to commercialize fusion power. The company says it has more than 1,000 employees and has raised more than $2 billion from investors since it was founded.
CFS announced the Chesterfield project late last year, and during the announcement event Gov. Glenn Youngkin described the plant as a “multi-billion-dollar” project. The company declined to share a cost estimate for the project last week, saying that the project’s design and development plans were still being finalized.
Earlier this month, Axios reported that CFS has raised more than $1 billion in an ongoing capital raise set to close in the summer, and that the funding is earmarked for the Chesterfield project.
This is bleeding edge technology. I certainly hope that the technology matures in time for the early ’30s launch.
Fusion is the future. It’s a super powerful and clean energy source. I’ve wondered all my adult life if I’d ever see its fruition on Earth.
It is very, very optimistic to think that there will be a fusion reactor that is net energy positive in the next decade. One has not been built yet by anyone anywhere.
Then let’s be optimistic for a change.
Fusion is a promising technical concept, but has yet to be demonstrated to be viable technically in terms of producing net power on a sustained basis. And its cost-effectiveness is even less certain. The only market I could imagine for such a project’s output, if it does prove technically viable, is the region’s data centers, to whom energy costs are so small as a percentage of revenues that their owners will pay high prices. But in that respect, small modular nuclear technology is already technically viable, and almost certainly would cost less that fusion’s first generation. So I am just… Read more »
Not sure if the capacity of SMRs is anywhere near the capacity of a fusion plant. How does that compare? Also, SMRs would have the nuclear waste issue to deal with, plus cooling issues and water consumption.
In terms of power output per land use, the 400 MW ARC site may be comparable to one larger (~300 MW) fission SMR installation. However, many SMR proposals call for multiple reactors in one location, while there will likely only be one ARC at this site. CFS has been very clear about approaching their implementation pathway from a “tech-industry-style” approach – the fastest possible pathway from private funding stages to commercialization. So ARC, being potentially first in the world, has more unknowns and could be seen as more of a “moonshot” than an SMR. ARC isn’t intended to be profit-making… Read more »
Maybe someone who knows Timmons a lot better than I do can answer this: Does Timmons have experience and expertise in the nuclear field? I was surprised to hear they’ve been selected.
Timmons will serve as the site’s civil engineer — I believe the word “civil” was unintentionally omitted earlier. Interestingly, the proposed location is just down the street from Atlantic Constructors, who launched a nuclear servicing division a few years ago. I’m not sure how similar the steam systems are between fission and fusion, but the coincidence is still pretty ironic.
That(proposed) plant is pretty close to the James River
I believe it has to be? at least traditional Nuclear needs an endless supply of cold water for heat dissipation.
Have they published the melt down impact zones?
There is no possibility of meltdowns with this technology. I highly encourage you to check out the CFS website. This specific question is asked and answered here: https://cfs.energy/chesterfield/info