Following its merger with SPAC Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III, General Fusion became the first publicly traded fusion energy company.
This milestone boosts General Fusion’s efforts to accelerate development of its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology, which aims to deliver carbon-free baseload electricity using a simpler and potentially lower-cost fusion approach than conventional reactor designs.
In 2026, TIME magazine named General Fusion the World’s Top GreenTech Company, citing its practical strategy for bringing fusion power closer to commercial deployment. A key part of that strategy is the Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), the company’s latest demonstration facility, which was designed, built, and commissioned in less than two years to validate critical elements of its fusion system.
What is fusion energy?
Fusion energy is produced when light atomic nuclei, typically hydrogen isotopes, combine to form a heavier nucleus and release energy. The process powers the Sun, where extreme temperature and pressure allow hydrogen nuclei to overcome their natural repulsion and fuse into helium. On Earth, scientists typically use deuterium and tritium, two hydrogen isotopes, because their fusion reaction produces substantial energy at comparatively achievable temperatures. However, laboratory fusion still requires temperatures of around 150 million°C, roughly 10 times hotter than the Sun’s core, because Earth-based systems cannot replicate the Sun’s gravitational pressure.
The U.S. Department of Energy describes fusion as having the potential to provide abundant, reliable, zero-carbon energy, but commercial deployment still depends on solving major challenges involving materials, fuel breeding, plasma control, heat extraction, and integrated power systems. The 2022 ignition achievement at the National Ignition Facility demonstrated an important scientific milestone, but producing net energy at the target does not yet mean a commercial fusion power plant is operating.
How General Fusion turns hydrogen into power
General Fusion’s Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology fuses hydrogen atoms together to release energy, the same basic reaction that powers the sun. In practice: hydrogen fuel is converted into a magnetized plasma and injected into a cavity lined with liquid lithium metal. A ring of synchronized mechanical drivers then compresses the liquid metal inward, squeezing the plasma until it reaches the extreme heat and pressure fusion requires. Because this approach doesn’t rely on the massive superconducting magnets or high-powered lasers other fusion designs use, General Fusion argues its reactor can be simpler and cheaper to build.
The liquid lithium does more than contain the reaction, it absorbs the heat released by fusion so it can be converted into electricity, shields the reactor’s inner walls from damage, and helps breed the tritium fuel needed to keep the reactor running.
This design is backed by more than 200,000 plasma experiments run over the course of the company’s research program, producing peer-reviewed results on the plasma conditions a commercial reactor will need. Most recently, General Fusion hit a major milestone by successfully creating a magnetized plasma inside its LM26 demonstration device, a key proof point for the compression process described above.
As the company moves toward commercialization, it’s also built a broad intellectual property portfolio covering the technologies MTF depends on, including large-scale vacuum-compatible electrical insulators and liquid metal handling systems, with continued backing from private investors and government programs.
System and method for plasma generation and compression
Producing controlled fusion requires plasma to remain stable and tightly contained. A major challenge is compressing magnetized plasma to increase its density and energy without disrupting the magnetic fields that keep it contained. Conventional compression methods can destabilize these magnetic fields, causing the plasma to lose confinement and disperse before enough atomic nuclei can fuse.
U.S. Patent No. 10,811,144 proposes a system designed to address this problem by controlling the magnetic fields during plasma compression. The system combines a plasma generator with a flux-conserving chamber and a long central shaft that extends through both components. As the plasma is compressed, the system delivers an additional electrical pulse through the central shaft. This pulse strengthens the surrounding magnetic field at the same time that the plasma’s other magnetic field increases, helping preserve the magnetic structure and keep the plasma confined.
The system uses separate electrical circuits to control the different stages of plasma formation and compression. First, the plasma generator receives gas and uses an electrical pulse to turn it into magnetized plasma, which is then transferred into the flux-conserving chamber. A separate circuit sends current through the central shaft to create the initial magnetic field around the plasma. During compression, a controller triggers an additional current pulse at a specific time to strengthen this magnetic field. By coordinating these magnetic fields, the system aims to maintain a stable balance as the plasma is compressed, reducing the risk of instability and improving the conditions needed for fusion.
The patent, titled “System and Method for Plasma Generation and Compression,” was filed on November 6, 2017, and granted on October 20, 2020. The inventors are Michel Georges Laberge, Meritt Wayne Reynolds, Alexander Douglas Mossman, Stephen James Howard, Blake Kenton Rablah, Peter Joseph Larkin O’Shea, Donald James Froese, and Charles Beaufort Eyrich.
Methods and systems for imploding a liquid liner
Creating and collapsing a cavity around plasma is an important part of some fusion compression systems, but doing so can require complicated mechanical equipment. One challenge is finding a reliable way to make a liquid liner collapse inward without using external pistons. Older systems, such as the LINUS concept developed in the 1970s, used free-moving pistons powered by high-pressure gas to push a cylindrical layer of liquid metal inward. This approach can add mechanical complexity to the plasma compression process.
U.S. Patent No. 11,064,601 describes a system that uses rotational motion to create and collapse a liquid liner. The device contains a vessel with a rotating component fitted with specially shaped blades that create curved passages for the liquid. Instead of using pistons to directly push the liquid inward, the system stores energy in the rotating liquid and then uses a controlled change in the rotating component’s motion to trigger the implosion.
The process begins when a rotating driver spins the component, forcing liquid through the curved passages and forming a ring-shaped liquid liner around an empty central cavity. Magnetized plasma can then be injected into this cavity. When the system rapidly changes the rotation of the component, the liquid’s existing momentum drives the liner inward. This converts the rotational energy stored in the liquid into an inward-moving force that collapses the cavity and compresses the plasma inside it.
The patent, titled “Methods and Systems for Imploding a Liquid Liner,” was filed on April 16, 2018, and granted on July 13, 2021. The inventors are Joerg Zimmermann, David Franklin Plant, Robert Vlastimil Bouchal, Troy Nickolas Tyler, Victoria Suponitsky, Michael Harcourt Delage, Michel Georges Laberge, and Malcolm Newton Williams.
A system for large-scale vacuum compatible electrical insulators
Containing high-energy plasma requires electrical insulators that can withstand high-voltage pulses, charged particles, and vacuum conditions. The challenge becomes greater as these components get larger. Traditional large insulators made entirely from ceramics such as alumina can become difficult, fragile, and expensive to manufacture at sizes above one meter. Glass, on the other hand, can be produced in much larger pieces but can be damaged by plasma exposure, which can cause electrical discharges across its surface and eventually lead to failure.
U.S. Patent No. 11,066,327 describes a system that combines the advantages of both materials by using a large glass structure with a protective ceramic coating. The glass provides the main structural support, acts as a vacuum seal, and electrically separates the components, while the ceramic coating protects the surface directly exposed to the plasma. This approach avoids the need to manufacture the entire large insulator from solid ceramic, potentially making the component easier and less costly to produce.
The system uses two materials in a layered structure. A large piece of borosilicate glass is placed between two electrodes to provide electrical insulation and maintain the vacuum inside the plasma vessel. A thin ceramic coating, such as alumina or yttria, is then applied to the glass surface facing the plasma. The coating is typically 10 to 200 micrometers thick, providing a protective barrier against charged particles and repeated high-voltage pulses. By combining a large, relatively easy-to-manufacture glass structure with a thin, plasma-resistant ceramic layer, the design aims to reduce surface damage, electrical discharges, and cracking while maintaining the voltage needed for plasma generation.
The patent, titled “Vacuum Compatible Electrical Insulator,” was filed on May 22, 2018, and granted on July 20, 2021. The inventors are Kelly Bernard Epp and Michel Georges Laberge.
Legal representation for all three patents was provided by Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP.
General Fusion: Global Patenting Activity
General Fusion has built a global intellectual property portfolio supporting its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology. The patent trend aligns with General Fusion’s broader commercialization strategy.
The company has completed more than 200,000 plasma experiments and recently commissioned Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), its large-scale Magnetized Target Fusion demonstration system, in less than two years. As General Fusion moves toward becoming a publicly traded company through its merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III, its expanding intellectual property portfolio provides protection for key reactor technologies while supporting future commercial deployment of fusion energy.
General Fusion: Top Law Firms
General Fusion’s patent portfolio is managed through a concentrated group of intellectual property law firms, reflecting a coordinated global filing strategy across key jurisdictions. Gowling WLG represents the largest share of the company’s patent filings, followed by Knobbe Martens and Lee & Mock IP.
The mix of legal representatives highlights General Fusion’s focus on protecting its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology in major innovation markets. Firms such as Asamura IP and Lifang & Partners strengthen the company’s presence in Asia, while Gowling WLG, Knobbe Martens, Mewburn Ellis, and Barker Brettell support filings across Canada, the US, and Europe. This geographically diversified legal network helps General Fusion secure intellectual property in jurisdictions that are expected to play a key role in the commercialization and deployment of fusion energy.
General Fusion: Top Technology Areas
General Fusion’s patent portfolio is concentrated in technologies directly related to fusion energy generation and reactor development. Fusion reactors (G21B), greenhouse gas reduction through energy generation (Y02E), and plasma technology (H05H) account for the largest share of patent classifications, highlighting the company’s focus on developing commercially viable Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) systems. These core technology areas are complemented by patents covering fluid handling, mechanical systems, and chemical processes that support reactor operation.
Beyond plasma physics and reactor design, the portfolio includes patents related to fluid systems (F15B and F15D), positive-displacement machines for fluids (F04B), chemical and physical processing (B01J and B01F), radiation protection (G21F), and spring or inertia-based mechanical systems (F03G). The breadth of these classifications reflects General Fusion’s strategy of protecting not only its core fusion process but also the supporting engineering technologies required to compress liquid metal, manage reactor conditions, and advance the commercialization of its MTF platform.