Realta Fusion, a magnetic mirror fusion energy company, has secured up to $55 million from the state of Wisconsin and the city of Madison to develop its corporate headquarters and fusion research facility at OM Station, the site of an iconic former Oscar Mayer plant. Realta expects to create more than 600 jobs at the facility, including both technical and non-technical roles.
"We spent the better part of the past two years searching across the country to find the most favorable business environment and the most attractive site to build our R&D facility, and we found it in our own backyard," said Realta CEO Kieran Furlong in a statement. "The state of Wisconsin and the city of Madison have made it clear they understand the promise of fusion energy and share our vision for the future, and now they've thrown their lot in together to make that vision a reality."
Realta expects to break ground on "The Realta Forge," its dedicated R&D facility where it will begin building the prototype magnetic mirror fusion machine, which it calls Hammir, before the end of the year.
"Fusion energy is not only good for our planet and our power grid, but it plays to all of our strengths as a state with our world-class research universities, research laboratories, and an incredible manufacturing and supply chain network supported by our dedicated and highly skilled workforce," said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in a statement. "Thanks in large part due to our efforts, we are getting closer every day to making fusion power part of our energy infrastructure and a commercially viable source of energy, and this new partnership will only strengthen that work. We are thrilled to help Realta grow its science and engineering expertise, build up its technology, and bring the economic benefits of fusion home to Wisconsin."
Before selecting Wisconsin, Realta considered comparable sites in Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee and beyond.
Realta's research facility news comes after the company said it recently made history by becoming the first commercial fusion company to convert plasma energy into electricity. It demonstrated the ability to draw multiple amps of current at around 100 volts and provide enough electrical power to illuminate several light bulbs.
"This is a first demonstration, but still a meaningful technical milestone and proof-of-concept that DEC can be done at a scale to light things up," said Dr. Derek Sutherland, Realta's Chief Scientific Officer, in a statement. "While we've demonstrated DEC works on WHAM, this is not yet a demonstration of net-electricity or a large-scale conversion of fusion power directly into electricity. Those are milestones for our future fusion machines."
