Why we invested in NT-Tao? Creating the future of nuclear fusion.
We’re excited to announce our investment in NTTao, a company developing a revolutionary micro nuclear fusion reactor to deliver a new source of energy for humanity, with a goal of democratizing clean and affordable energy worldwide.
What is nuclear fusion?
Nuclear fusion occurs when two atoms merge. This process occurs naturally in the sun, under high temperatures and pressure, fusing two atoms of Hydrogen, producing Helium and an immense amount of energy. Nuclear fusion holds the promise of almost infinite energy from a small amount of Hydrogen. To recreate nuclear fusion on earth requires building a “pressure cooker” at high temperatures to induce collisions. Scientists and engineers have been trying unsuccessfully for decades to replicate this process at scale on Earth.
Why nuclear fusion?
There is a growing global demand for energy. Specifically, there is a growing need for clean, cheap, and sustainable energy. The US Inflation Reduction Act, as well as funding from the EU and others, are accelerating the transition to enable energy security and reduce emissions to meet the global targets to curb climate change.
However, solar and wind, which are the main sources of sustainable clean power, are intermittent, require large areas, and cannot be deployed globally. In addition, they often require to be deployed in specific locations, then require transport over the grid, which is currently unreliable or costly energy storage.
Existing solutions based on nuclear fission, like nuclear power plants, involve using materials that can be used for atomic bombs, risks of meltdown, and hazardous nuclear waste. They also take a long time to build and operate.
Fusion, as a technology, has a more significant upside than other green energy solutions. It is designed to generate just as much or even more energy as traditional fission but without the risk of meltdown, long-term radioactive waste, and no capability for weapons proliferation.
And, unlike wind or solar, fusion isn’t dependent on external conditions for electricity generation. Rain or shine fusion is uniquely capable of generating emissions-free energy as demanded.
Why NT-Tao?
Three main reasons
- An innovative breakthrough design — NT-Tao took a different path than the rest of the fusion market. They leveraged the latest innovations across multiple disciplines to construct a small reactor. This means that they have a path toward achieving positive energy output through iterative innovation and getting there faster. Ultimately, this leads to lower development costs & risks.
- Scalability — the small design can be placed anywhere on the plant. It is ideal for small manufacturing plants, small cities, and even larger cities through parallel stacking. The potential is enormous.
- Team — the team has been working together for years and brings a different approach and perspectives drawing on compact system design, theoretical and practical physics, electronics and mechanics.
Looking forward
The market for clean and compact energy is huge: projected to reach $2T by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.4% from 2021 to 2030. NT-Tao’s technology, their proprietary plasma heating system, is expected to reach 1000 times higher density than other fusion systems, resulting in significantly higher energy production. Governments and companies globally have pledged to reduce their emissions and are in need of an efficient nuclear fusion solution to realize their goals.
We remain committed to empowering the leading companies that turn scarcity into abundance as aligned with the UN SDGs. We are here to support NT-Tao to deliver on the mission of democratizing clean and affordable energy worldwide.
