Fusion power plant seeks zoning permit in Chesterfield

Commonwealth Fusion Systems has filed an application with Chesterfield County for a permit to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in the county.

The Massachusetts-based fusion energy company announced plans to build the 400-megawatt fusion facility, dubbed ARC, in December 2024. The power plant would likely cost more than $2.5 billion, according to Chesterfield’s economic development director, Garrett Hart.

The project would be located at 1201 Battery Brooke Parkway in the James River Industrial Center, a site owned by Dominion Energy. CFS has signed an option-to-lease agreement for the site, according to spokesperson Christine Dunn.

CFS filed an application with the county on May 21 for a conditional use permit for the approximately 94-acre site. The case does not yet have a scheduled public hearing date with the county planning commission.

CFS expects the plant to produce up to 400 megawatts of carbon-free energy, enough to power large industrial projects or about 150,000 homes. The company expects to sell ARC-generated power to large industrial/commercial customers through purchase power agreements, according to a county document.

CFS plans to begin construction in the late 2020s and start operations in the early 2030s. ARC is designed to run for 20 years or more, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in December 2024.

Spun out of MIT in 2018, CFS is one of more than 40 companies currently pursuing fusion technologies and says it is the largest private fusion company in the world. It has raised more than $2 billion in capital from high-profile investors including Google, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Tiger Global Management, Khosla Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital. CFS’ Series B2 round has raised more than $1 billion and is now targeting between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, Axios Pro reported in mid-May.

The company is building a fusion demonstration machine, nicknamed SPARC, at its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. CFS began assembling the machine’s tokamak — a fusion device that uses electromagnets to create the right conditions for fusion energy — in March. SPARC will begin commissioning in 2025 and start operations in 2026, according to CFS’ zoning application.

ARC will use magnetic fields for the fusion process. In the process, two forms of hydrogen — deuterium and tritium — fuse, creating helium and releasing neutrons. A “molten salt liquid ‘blanket’ surrounding the plasma will capture the energy of the neutrons in the form of heat,” according to CFS’ zoning application. The molten salt then circulates through heat exchangers — systems that transfer heat between fluids — to produce steam, which turns a turbine connected to an electricity generator.