Federico Felici and Jonas Buchli, former engineers with experience in fusion research and AI at Google DeepMind, have launched Fusionality, a startup focused on developing control systems for fusion reactors. The company, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, addresses a key challenge faced by fusion companies: the lack of specialized suppliers providing components and software tailored to fusion reactor control.
Fusion power plants generate electricity by fusing atoms within a superheated plasma, a process that requires precise and rapid control of temperature, shape, and fuel levels. While many fusion startups build their control systems from scratch, Fusionality aims to leverage the common physics underlying different reactor designs to create modular control systems and simulation environments. These can then be customized by fusion companies to suit their specific reactor configurations.
Felici and Buchli’s backgrounds include work on experimental tokamaks and AI-driven control systems. They emphasize that while artificial intelligence will enhance future fusion control systems, it is not yet ready to fully manage reactor operations independently. Instead, AI will complement and optimize parts of the control process.
Currently, Fusionality is concentrating on magnetic confinement fusion, an approach that uses powerful electromagnets to maintain the plasma conditions necessary for fusion. The startup’s recent $3.7 million pre-seed funding round will support the development of a core set of modular technologies designed to serve a broad range of fusion reactor needs.
Fusionality’s efforts come amid a growing ecosystem of companies developing components and technologies to help fusion startups transition from experimental devices to grid-ready power plants. By providing standardized control solutions, Fusionality aims to accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy, which has the potential to offer a clean and virtually limitless power source.