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General Fusion<\/a> began trading on the Nasdaq today under the ticker GFUZ, becoming the first publicly listed fusion power company, beating competitor and Trump-backed TAE Technologies<\/a> by several months.\u00a0<\/p>\n And investors seemed to want in. The stock rallied as trading began Monday and is now up 40% from $12.85 as of 12:50 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n General Fusion announced in January<\/a> that it would merge with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III, and the transaction was completed last week.<\/p>\n Without redemptions, the fusion power company could have added as much as $230 million to its balance sheet. But most de-SPAC deals see a wave of redemptions before the merger completes. This one is no exception, and while the company hasn\u2019t disclosed the exact amount yet, a report<\/a> in the Globe and Mail estimates that General Fusion might receive less than $30 million after redemptions and fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alongside the de-SPAC, General Fusion also raised $108 million from private investors. Altogether, the company says it holds about $150 million in cash.<\/p>\n Before the reverse merger was announced, General Fusion was running short on cash and struggling to raise more. The company had reportedly been attempting to raise $125 million. But by May 2025, it hadn\u2019t materialized, and General Fusion laid off at least 25% of its employees<\/a>. Three months later, the company convinced existing investors to put in another $22 million<\/a> in what was reportedly a \u201cpay to play\u201d round.\u00a0<\/p>\n That round gave General Fusion some breathing room. But fusion power is an expensive business, and the company was soon looking for more funding, which culminated in the reverse merger announced in January.<\/p>\n Founded in 2002, General Fusion is one of the oldest fusion power companies around. Over the years, it has raised over $600 million<\/a> from private investors.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s approach to fusion power, known as magnetized target fusion, uses electromagnetic fields to create magnetized plasma, a soup of superheated particles, inside a chamber lined with liquid lithium. Once the plasma is formed, it will use rings of pistons to compress liquid lithium around the fusion fuel until the atoms within fuse and release energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Previously, the company said it would use steam to drive the pistons, though today it doesn\u2019t specify, merely saying that \u201csynchronized mechanical drivers\u201d will force the lithium blanket inward around the plasma.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company had hoped to use its LM26 device<\/a> to hit a milestone known as breakeven, where a fusion reaction releases more energy than was required to ignite it, sometime this year. Its funding woes have pushed the timeline back, though, likely to 2028 or later. General Fusion says it is aiming to turn on its first power plant \u201cby approximately 2035.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n