SSUMF - Chevron invests in nuclear fusion startup that's raised $1.2B

Chevron ( NYSE: CVX ) is part of a $250M funding round announced Tuesday for Google-backed TAE Technologies, a nuclear fusion startup with a "non-radioactive approach" that has raised $1.2B in total.

Japan's Sumitomo ( OTCPK:SSUMY ) also participated in the funding round, and will help TAE bring its fusion technology to the Asia-Pacific region.

TAE said the latest financing will go toward building its next generation fusion machine, called Copernicus, to be built in a 100K sq. ft. facility in Irvine, Calif., and which will be designed to demonstrate the viability of achieving net energy generation with the company's advanced beam-driven field-reversed configuration.

The company's fifth-generation fusion reactor, Norman, was unveiled in 2017 and has proven capable of sustaining stable plasma at more than 75M degrees Celsius.

"TAE and fusion technology as a whole has the potential to be a scalable source of no-carbon energy generation and a key enabler of grid stability as renewables become a greater portion of the energy mix," said Jim Gable, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, the company's corporate venture capital arm.

Chevron ( CVX ) CEO Michael Wirth said recently that the crude oil price downturn could be fleeting as the oil market remains tight .

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