Fusion Energy: $36M and World Records for Compact, Modular, Zero-Carbon Power (Kieran Furlong, CEO @ Realta Fusion)

Learn how Realta Fusion raised a giant Series A VC round to commercialize university tech for affordable fusion energy in industrial heating.

🎧 Episode Summary

Kieran Furlong, Co-Founder and CEO of Realta Fusion, joins host Dr. Chris Wedding to reveal how his team is commercializing a breakthrough approach to fusion energy, spinning out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Realta’s “CosmoFusion”—compact, scalable, and modular—aims to bring affordable, zero-carbon energy to hard-to-abate sectors much sooner than the world expects.

Kieran shares why their recent funding round was oversubscribed, details the world record 17 Tesla magnetic field their team achieved, and demystifies the practical steps from deep science to the first-of-its-kind commercial fusion plant. He digs into how Realta’s engineering mindset speeds up the path to market, why industrial heat (not just electricity) is an overlooked fusion product, and how the company is tackling public perception, regulation, and customer partnerships head-on.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Realta Fusion’s CosmoFusion approach centers on building compact, modular, and scalable fusion plants—right-sized for private industry, not just distant grid-scale promises.

• Their team achieved a world-record 17 Tesla magnetic field strength in plasma containment, a major technical milestone for fusion’s viability.

• Realta targets delivering industrial heat directly to energy-intensive sectors (like petrochemicals and data centers), unlocking decarbonization beyond the electric grid.

• The business model: ‘build-own-operate’ for the first commercial plant, with future expansion to OEM and global partnerships, rather than risky licensing.

• Realta’s cost curve strategy borrows from the modular scaling seen in wind and solar, aiming for rapid cost declines as more units are built.

• Fusion’s safety profile is fundamentally different from fission: no long-lived radioactive waste, no runaway reactions, and intrinsic fail-safety—the technical and public education challenge is a top priority.

• Regulators in the US, UK, and Japan are already treating fusion differently from fission, making a faster, cheaper path to market possible.

• The fusion industry benefits from bipartisan support and national interest in reshoring high-precision manufacturing and energy security.

• Kieran’s advice for founders: set your personal red lines (e.g., defense work) early and align your team before pressure hits; build healthy routines (like biking year-round in Wisconsin!); and learn from big project management history.

• Recommended reads: “How Big Things Get Done,” “Energy and Civilization” by Vaclav Smil, and “The Prize” by Daniel Yergin.

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🎙️ About the Host

Dr. Chris Wedding is a CEO coach, investor, serial founder, board member, professor, and occasional monk. Follow daily insights on climate tech startups, leadership, and finance on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwedding/