World’s largest nuclear fusion firm partners A*STAR to develop commercial power plant tech

Singapore is taking steps to enter the fusion energy ecosystem through a partnership between the world’s largest commercial fusion energy firm and local research agency, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Signed during Temasek’s Ecosperity conference on 20 May, the five-year collaboration with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) will focus on developing technologies for commercial fusion power plants.

This is part of the Republic’s effort to become an early entrant in the global fusion energy supply chain.

The partnership will allow the statutory board to be part of the commercialisation process behind the American company’s ARC fusion reactor, which is designed to be affordable, robust, and compact. It is slated to supply electricity at commercial scale by the early 2030s.

As global power demand grows due to data centres, air conditioning, and other electricity-intensive technology, startups and governments are racing to harness nuclear fusion – the process that powers the sun – for large amounts of clean energy.

Fusion energy is produced when light atoms are forced together to release energy. The process is less dangerous than traditional fission reactors as there is no risk of a runaway chain reaction. But fusion requires temperatures several times hotter than the centre of the sun.

Professor Lim Keng Hui, assistant chief executive of A*STAR’s Science and Engineering Research Council, said: “Fusion energy is at an inflection point, with the global industry moving closer to the commercial deployment of clean, reliable power.

“This partnership with CFS brings A*STAR’s strengths in translational research into real-world fusion systems, drawing on capabilities in advanced materials, precision manufacturing, and materials testing.”
 

It builds on an earlier collaboration between A*STAR, CFS, and ST Engineering to build components for the SPARC demonstration device, which is scheduled to produce more energy from fusion than it needs to power the process in 2027.

CFS, backed by Temasek, US tech giant NVIDIA, and others, plans to apply lessons from the US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) SPARC project to construct its ARC commercial power plant in Virginia.

Google, another investor, has signed an agreement to buy half the plant’s electricity.

CFS’ chief executive Bob Mumgaard said: “Singapore possesses major capabilities in advanced manufacturing and materials engineering. They have deployed these capabilities in the shipbuilding, aerospace, and semiconductor sectors. With our partnership with A*STAR, we envision that these capabilities will accelerate our commercialisation journey.”

At the heart of fusion is the use of materials that can withstand plasma and carry coolants, he added. Fusion reactions take place in plasma – a superheated state of matter.

In step with the growing interest in nuclear energy, a coalition to support more countries in exploring the safe and credible deployment of nuclear energy over the decade was announced on 19 May at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2026.

The Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy, supported by Temasek Trust and the Rockefeller Foundation, aims to mobilise and coordinate philanthropic capital to accelerate efficient, safe, secure, and equitable nuclear energy worldwide.

So far, the coalition has gained support from organisations including charitable initiative Founders Pledge and the Oppenheimer Project, a non-profit supporting the legacy of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer by advocating for nuclear energy.

Noting the controversial nature of nuclear energy, the Rockefeller Foundation’s senior vice-president of power Ashvin Dayal said philanthropy can play a neutral, convening role.

“It is not our job to help any one country’s supply chain prevail over another. Our job is to provide...science-based impartial support and technical assessment and capacity investments that can help the market move forward and flourish,” he said.
 

The coalition aligns with the declaration at the UN climate summit COP28 by more than 30 countries to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050 to meet net-zero goals.

Interest in energy security has grown over the past two years following the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, said Oppenheimer Project co-executive director Karen Pak.

She noted the World Bank’s lifting of its longstanding ban on funding nuclear energy projects in June 2025 as part of the push to meet rising electricity needs.

“When you look at the data, it is telling that we need nuclear energy,” said Ms Pak.

The coalition will be supported with the infrastructure of TT Foundation Advisors, the philanthropy advisory arm of Temasek Trust.

Momentum for nuclear energy is gathering pace, said Mr Dickson Lim, head of TT Foundation Advisors, citing the inclusion of 16 major financial institutions supporting the declaration.

Rather than having all stakeholders agree on a position on nuclear energy, the coalition will help facilitate collaboration on their areas of interest, he added.

The partnerships come as Singapore has made further moves to study the deployment of nuclear energy in the city-state.

On 19 May, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the Republic will undergo an assessment by the UN atomic watchdog in 2027 to determine its readiness to make an informed decision on deploying nuclear energy.
 

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.