Bill Gates-backed Commonwealth Fusion Systems has placed the largest single purchase order of superconducting tape with Japan’s Fujikura. The company announced the deal on Wednesday, September 30. It covers more than 10,000 kilometers, roughly 6,200 miles, of high-temperature superconducting tape that fusion power plants need to operate.
Fujikura will expand its manufacturing capacity in Japan to deliver the high-temperature superconducting tape at the scale the order requires. The company was founded in 1885 and operates more than 100 group companies. Fujikura chief executive Naoki Okada said the deal positions the company as a key supplier for fusion plants. It also builds a long-term business platform for the 2030s and beyond.
That plant will rise at the Fall Line Fusion Power Station in Chesterfield County, Virginia, according to the company. CFS expects it to deliver about 400 megawatts, and Google has committed to 200 megawatts of that output. However, CFS ties the full ARC build to a key test of its SPARC machine, which is now under construction. SPARC must first show that a fusion reaction releases more energy than it consumes.
“This partnership with Fujikura demonstrates how we’re actively placing orders and getting ready to execute our ARC power plant,” said Bob Mumgaard, chief executive of CFS.
CFS expects SPARC to reach that breakeven point in 2027, so the tape order arrives well ahead of the result. Notably, the company raised another $1 billion on July 30, which brought its total funding to $4 billion. Earlier investors include Google, NVIDIA, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the climate fund Gates founded.
According to the company, commercial fusion plants should start supplying electricity to national power grids during the 2030s. CFS describes the order as the largest of its kind for high-temperature superconducting tape. The announcement does not list a contract value. Meanwhile, Fujikura now gains a major long-term customer for its tape business.
