Well, Google just set its pile of cash on fire in the most high-energy way imaginable…by signing the first direct commercial deal for nuclear fusion. Yes, really. The tech behemoth is about to start powering search results and deep fakes with the same science that holds the universe together.
(Source: Giphy)
In short, nuclear fusion is the holy grail of energy… fusing hydrogen atoms until they start acting like a Coachella crowd and releasing truly disgusting amounts of energy. It’s never been pulled off outside a government-funded science experiment, which is precisely why Google decided to say “bet” and get into bed with Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
However, while you’re more likely to see a unicorn in your Chipotle parking lot, especially considering a single commercial electron of fusion has yet to be produced, it hasn’t stopped Bill Gates or the entire city of Cambridge from mainlining hype and $2B into CFS. But hey, CFS is the brainchild of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and with that credibility… it’s apparently worth the cash burn.
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
So why is Google diving in? Well, because for one, Microsoft signed a little side quest with Helion Energy for 50MW last year. Google saw it, and said “hold my bear” as they’ve issued a direct order for 200MW from CFS’s first commercial ARC plant in Virginia. For context, that’s enough juice to power 75,000 homes, or, if we’re being real, one slightly mid-size data center riddled with hallucinating chatbots. Meaning, it’s the biggest real-world commitment to fusion yet, even if it doesn’t hit the grid until the early 2030s.
(Source: CNBC)
As for the actual numbers of this deal, they’re non-existent to the public eye. But from what we do know, Google will take half the plant’s output, and they’ve got dibs on whatever comes next. Translation: The deal’s so future-facing they basically bought a PS8 pre-order with no receipt. And yet, the plan is that CFS will heat up atomic nuclei to over 100 million degrees Celsius with a magnetic donut called a tokamak. At that point, high temperature superconducting magnets will keep things from melting down (theoretically), and if everything goes right, the plant will pop out carbon-free electricity and not vaporize Chesterfield County. Bigly.
But still, this is as speculative as it gets. Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures is in, and Google’s happy to double down. Just this month, they threw more money at TAE Technologies, another fusion hopeful that swears we’re only a few engineering miracles away from not having to care about CO2 ever again. The problem? Google’s recent sustainability report was basically a cry for help. The company’s AI obsession torched their power usage by more than 25% in a year, they burned 8 gigawatts of “clean” in 2024, and still ratcheted emissions up 11% to 11.5 million metric tons. Meaning, net-zero by 2030 is starting to look like BP’s failed attempt at satisfying their own tree-huggers.
(Source: Giphy)
To be fair though, buying green power is a mess anyway: “fragmented grids,” “regulatory risk,” and “higher costs” are all a part of the shindig. But hey, fusion is the rich-kid moonshot where if it works, Sundar gets a Time cover. If not, he can still plug his Tesla in at grandma’s windmill. Meanwhile, U.S. policy is cosplaying 1950s nuclear optimism again, but political posturing is just background noise compared to Big Tech tossing billions at companies that functionally sell magic beans.
Meaning, either Google and CFS just raw-dogged the future of energy (real), or in ten years this’ll be the Enron of climate moonshots. Fusion delivered to the grid, great… but another “just five more years, you guys”? Well, it’s cooked city. Of course, this is definitely a long run bet, but it’s clear Google is willing to go scortech-earth on it. So with that, keep your eyes on this deal and this story in general, and place your bets accordingly. Until next time, friends…
At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Google, Microsoft, and Tesla as mentioned in the article.
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