Behind Type One Energy’s Big Week of Partnerships

Last week, Type One Energy announced a cooperative agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to explore a potential fusion power plant using Type One’s stellarator technology. Type One Energy outlined an ambitious timeline, suggesting that the 350 MWe fusion pilot power plant, named Infinity Two, could be operational by the mid-2030s.

The two companies would collaborate on Infinity Two siting studies, environmental reviews, permitting, and securing financing. Type One Energy is also able (through a separate arrangement) to take advantage of the TVA’s Power Service Shops, which could support the manufacturing and assembly of the pilot plant. It’s worth noting that TVA is not investing or receiving any equity in Type One.

Type One Energy’s cooperative agreement with the TVA was announced alongside another major partnership: an exclusive licensing deal with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). That deal gives Type One Energy access to CFS’ high-temperature superconducting magnet technology and manufacturing expertise to develop its own stellarator magnets.

There was also a third announcement last week about yet another partnership, this one with private equity firm Pine Island New Energy Partners (PINEP). Type One Energy will serve as an “advisory institutional operating partner” to the firm. In practice, this means that Type One will help source deal flow, identifying high-value companies in the fusion supply chain that PINEP could then invest in.

Despite the recent press blitz, there has been little noise around Type One Energy’s progress toward key engineering milestones. Construction has yet to begin on the startup’s first prototype, as the company still needs to secure critical permits and licenses before that can happen. In February 2024, Type One projected that construction could begin sometime in 2025, meaning an operational prototype is still far off.

The slate of partnership announcements, in lieu of concrete technical milestones, signals that Type One Energy could be looking to show some momentum ahead of fundraising. The startup previously raised a $53.5 million seed extension in July 2024, after a $29 million seed round in March 2023.

Fundraising within a year of closing a previous round isn’t surprising in an industry as capital-intensive as fusion energy. Helion and Zap Energy, for example, both raised additional capital less than a year after securing Series A funding. But in the case of Type One Energy, it remains to be seen whether high-profile partnerships will be enough to sway investors.