Nuclear Fusion Leader Wants to Build on Site of Old Coal Plants

Commonwealth Fusion Systems LLC is looking to replace the boilers in fossil fuel power plants with the heat of the sun.

The US company is so confident in its fusion technology that it’s evaluating old coal and natural gas plants as locations to build its first commercial system even before its demonstration device is finished. Doing so would mark a step change for the energy transition and the shift from polluting fossil fuels to carbon-free fusion power, though fusion remains an unproven nuclear technology.

Commonwealth’s growing conviction that fusion is within reach after decades of research comes as the company ...