The archive · Space, Robots, Defence · Strategic decision · 2023–2026
Type One's stellarator bet: Tennessee issues first fusion license, Infinity One due 2029
Fusion startup Type One Energy wins Tennessee's first fusion-specific license, plans the Infinity One stellarator prototype by 2029 and a 350MW plant.
Type One Energy
What the business is
Type One Energy develops stellarator fusion power plants: it plans Infinity One, the first commercial-scale stellarator prototype, and Infinity Two, a 350 MWe plant, selling its technology to TVA and other power providers.
Starting capital：$82.5M seed extended round (2023–2024) with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures and TDK Ventures; $87M convertible note (Jan 2026) brings venture funding past $160M; $250M Series B in progress at a $900M pre-money valuation
How it started
Type One Energy raised a $29M seed round in 2023 that grew to $82.5M by 2024 with backing from Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and began working with the Tennessee Valley Authority in February 2024 on placing its first power plant at the former Bull Run fossil plant in Clinton, Tennessee — an 865 MW coal plant retired in December 2023.
What happened
In September 2025 TVA issued a Letter of Intent to develop and build Infinity Two, a first-generation 350 MWe baseload stellarator plant with construction starting as early as 2028, after Type One completed the first formal design review in May 2025. In January 2026 Type One submitted a first-of-a-kind byproduct material licence application to Tennessee regulators, and TechCrunch reported an $87M convertible note raising total venture funding past $160M, with a $250M Series B in progress at a $900M pre-money valuation. On August 30, 2026, Tennessee's Department of Environment and Conservation issued the state's first fusion-specific license under its new framework, with construction of the first phase of Project Infinity expected to begin in 2026.
How it ended up
Still running: the first fusion-specific state license is secured and first-phase construction is expected in 2026, but no fusion plant has yet been built and final Infinity Two funding still requires TVA board approval.
Background
Type One Energy is a Knoxville-based fusion startup pursuing the stellarator, a magnetic-confinement design in which the plasma chamber is twisted like a figure-8 to hold plasma steady without the current-drive systems tokamaks need. The company raised a $29M seed in 2023, extended to $82.5M by 2024 with Breakthrough Energy Ventures among the investors, and aligned with the Tennessee Valley Authority in February 2024 on the retired Bull Run coal site.
The bet is that the stellarator — long dismissed as too complex to build — can leap from experiments to a commercial power plant, and that Type One can win by licensing early in a state that built a fusion regulatory framework. Unlike many fusion developers, Type One plans to sell key technology to utilities such as TVA, which would build, own and operate the plants, keeping the startup's balance sheet light.
The milestone sequence is concrete: TVA issued a Letter of Intent in September 2025 for Infinity Two, a 350 MWe plant with construction potentially starting in 2028; Type One submitted a first-of-a-kind licensing application in January 2026; and on August 30, 2026, Tennessee issued the state's first fusion-specific license, with first-phase construction expected to begin in 2026. Infinity One, the first commercial-scale stellarator prototype, is targeted for commissioning in 2029, with Infinity Two's full startup around 2034.
TechCrunch reported in January 2026 that the company had raised an $87M convertible note, bringing venture funding past $160M, and was raising a $250M Series B at a $900M pre-money valuation. As of September 2026 the license is secured but no fusion plant exists, and Infinity Two's definitive funding still needs TVA board approval.
What has to be true
- Stellarators hold plasma in steady state without the current-drive problems of tokamaks, so Type One bet the design can jump from experimental machines to a commercial plant.
- Tennessee's decision to license fusion at the state level created a first-mover regulatory path, and Type One wrote the first application under it with TVA's backing.
- Selling technology to utilities instead of building and owning plants lightens the balance sheet, but it depends on a customer committing to a first-of-a-kind 350MW buildout.
- Sequencing — Infinity One prototype by 2029, Infinity Two in the mid-2030s — lets investors fund milestones rather than one giant plant and gives regulators experience first.
What can be applied
First-mover licensing can secure state approval and a utility partner before a machine exists — but stellarator physics and a 350MW first-of-a-kind buildout remain a long, capital-heavy bet.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-02, Type One holds the first fusion-specific license issued by Tennessee (Aug 30, 2026), with first-phase construction of Project Infinity at TVA's Bull Run site expected to begin in 2026. Infinity One, billed as the first commercial-scale stellarator, is targeted for commissioning in 2029; TVA's Letter of Intent covers Infinity Two, a 350 MWe plant, with construction as early as 2028 and full startup around 2034, subject to TVA board approval. Venture funding exceeds $160M, with a $250M Series B at a $900M pre-money valuation in progress. No fusion plant has yet been built.
Sources
- Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy raises $87M ahead of $250M Series B
- Type One Energy initiates licensing of fusion power plant
- Tennessee issues first commercial nuclear fusion license for Bull Run Project
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