Commonwealth Fusion Systems gets $85M to build better fusion-ready semiconductors

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced on Thursday that it would receive $85 million from the U.S. government to develop advanced chips for the fusion power industry. Fusion power startups have been racing to complete their first demonstration devices, with CFS aiming to turn on its Sparc reactor sometime next year. But building one reactor is just a proof point. If fusion startups want to build dozens of commercial power plants, they’ll need more durable power electronics and a robust supply chain.

联邦聚变系统公司（Commonwealth Fusion Systems，简称 CFS）周四宣布，将从美国政府获得 8500 万美元资金，用于为聚变能源行业开发先进芯片。聚变能源初创公司一直在竞相完成其首批演示装置，CFS 的目标是在明年某个时候启动其 Sparc 反应堆。但建造一台反应堆仅仅是一个验证点。如果聚变初创公司想要建造数十座商业发电厂，他们将需要更耐用的电力电子设备和稳健的供应链。

The new CHIPS Act award from the Department of Commerce, which also grants the government a stake in CFS, will help boost R&D and manufacturing capacity for semiconductors in the U.S., the company said. “Ultimately, that means a more capable, economical power plant and a stronger U.S. supply chain to build it,” Brandon Sorbom, co-founder and chief science officer at CFS, wrote in a blog post.

该公司表示，这笔来自美国商务部《芯片法案》的新拨款（同时也让政府获得了 CFS 的股份）将有助于提升美国半导体的研发和制造能力。CFS 联合创始人兼首席科学官 Brandon Sorbom 在一篇博文中写道：“归根结底，这意味着我们将拥有能力更强、更经济的发电厂，以及更强大的美国供应链来建造它。”

CFS’s award will go toward supporting five different initiatives. The first is the advancement of silicon carbide power electronics. The semiconductors are widely used to manage high voltages, and they’re found in everything from LEDs and EVs to cell phone base stations and data centers. It’s also used in fusion machines, where intense bursts of electricity are used to drive the superconducting magnets that confine plasma inside a reactor.

CFS 的这笔拨款将用于支持五项不同的计划。第一项是碳化硅电力电子技术的进步。这种半导体被广泛用于管理高电压，从 LED 和电动汽车到手机基站和数据中心，随处可见。它也用于聚变机器中，利用强电流脉冲来驱动将等离子体限制在反应堆内的超导磁体。

CFS will also use the award to develop next-generation radio-frequency power generators, which the company uses to heat fusion fuel, and advanced electronics that will enable faster control of the reactor and be hardened against radiation. The latter could help extend the lifespan of electronics within a fusion power plant, reducing operating costs. Lastly, CFS plans to use part of the CHIPS award to adapt AI hardware like GPUs and TPUs for power plants.

CFS 还将利用这笔拨款开发下一代射频功率发生器（公司用于加热聚变燃料），以及能够实现更快速反应堆控制并具备抗辐射能力的先进电子设备。后者有助于延长聚变电厂内电子设备的使用寿命，从而降低运营成本。最后，CFS 计划将部分《芯片法案》拨款用于改造 GPU 和 TPU 等人工智能硬件，以适配发电厂使用。

“The funding would help improve the U.S. chip and power electronics industries at the same time it accelerates fusion energy’s progress toward the electrical grid,” Sorbom said.

Sorbom 表示：“这笔资金将有助于改善美国的芯片和电力电子行业，同时加速聚变能源向电网输送的进程。”