Tech giant signs deal for clean energy from yet-to-be-built plant
Google is investing in nuclear fusion — a still-theoretical energy source that mimics the power of stars — to help secure a long-term clean energy supply for its growing AI and data center needs. The company announced Monday it has signed a power purchase agreement with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, acquiring 200 megawatts from the firm’s first commercial fusion plant expected in Virginia in the early 2030s.
That’s enough to power around 200,000 American homes, though the facility has yet to be built, and the technology hasn’t reached commercial viability. Fusion produces no greenhouse gases or long-term radioactive waste and relies on hydrogen from seawater and tritium derived from lithium — making it an energy holy grail, if it can be made to work.
New investment signals urgency for zero-carbon baseload power
Google is also injecting additional funds into Commonwealth to support its SPARC demonstration plant in Massachusetts, a tokamak reactor designed to generate more energy than it consumes. The tokamak uses superheated plasma and powerful magnets to force atomic nuclei to fuse, unleashing energy at a scale far beyond fossil fuels.
“We’re using this purchasing power that we have to send a demand signal to the market for fusion energy and hopefully move the technology forward,” said Michael Terrell, Google’s head of energy and climate.
Fusion’s appeal: steady, carbon-free power for AI and data
Unlike wind and solar, fusion promises consistent baseload electricity, a key draw for AI-driven companies operating massive data centers. Google has already invested in geothermal and small modular reactors to serve similar goals. Fusion offers the added appeal of scale and environmental sustainability — if it can overcome the technical barrier of producing net-positive energy.
Commonwealth CEO Bob Mumgaard said Google’s agreement is the “largest offtake agreement for fusion” to date. The funding will allow the company to work on its commercial ARC plant in Virginia concurrently with finishing SPARC.
“Now we can start to work more and more on ARC while we finish SPARC, instead of doing them very sequentially,” Mumgaard said.
