After an extensive global search for a desirable location, the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant will be built at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County, Va., by Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), based in Devens, Mass., the largest private fusion company.

“This is a historic moment,” Bob Mumgaard, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said in a December 2024 press release. “In the early 2030s, all eyes will be on the Richmond region and more specifically Chesterfield County, Virginia, as the birthplace of commercial fusion energy.”

“Virginia emerged as a strong partner as they look to implement innovative solutions for both reliable electricity and clean forms of power,” Mumgaard said.

CFS will independently finance, build, own and operate the plant, known as ARC. Dominion Energy Virginia, which currently owns the proposed site, will provide nonfinancial collaboration, including development, technical expertise and leasing rights for the site.

“Commonwealth Fusion Systems is the clear industry leader in advancing the exciting energy potential of fusion,” said Edward H. Baine, president of utility operations and Dominion Energy Virginia. “Our customers’ growing needs for reliable, carbon-free power benefits from as diverse a menu of power generation options as possible, and in that spirit, we are delighted to assist CFS in their efforts.”

The Virginia Department of Energy partnered with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Chesterfield County and Dominion Energy to secure the multibillion dollar project, according to a separate press release by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank will provide a $1 million grant toward the project’s development, which will be matched with a $1 million grant by Chesterfield County.

“There could not be a more significant project for the first grant of Virginia's Clean Energy Innovation Bank than the world’s first commercial fusion plant,” said Glenn Davis, director of the Virginia Department of Energy. “Virginia Energy is excited about what this project could mean to the Commonwealth, our nation and the world.”

While still in the nascent stages of development, once the project gets off the ground the new ARC fusion power plant is expected to generate billions of dollars in economic development in the region and create hundreds of jobs during the facility’s construction and long-term operation. ARC will generate about 400 megawatts of electricity—enough energy to power large industrial sites or about 150,000 homes.

Paving the way for ARC is SPARC, a fusion demonstration machine that CFS is

currently developing at its headquarters. SPARC is expected to produce its first plasma in 2026 and net fusion energy shortly afterward, demonstrating for the first time a commercially relevant design that will produce more power than consumed. ARC is expected to deliver power to the grid in the early 2030s. 

CFS was spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018. Since then, it has raised more than $2 billion in private capital and has received $16.5 million in grants from the U.S Department of Energy. The most recent grant of $15 million was announced last June as part of the first phase of the DOE’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.