Type One Energy to invest $223.5M
Boston-based nuclear power innovator Type One Energy plans to invest $223.5 million to build a research facility and employ about 130 people in part of the former TVA Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, TVA, state and local officials have announced.
A part of the Bull Run administrative offices will be renovated for use by Type One Energy, but none of the power plant itself will be involved, said Andy Wallace, president of the Anderson County Economic Development Association.
The facility will be used to develop the company’s prototype Infinity One “stellarator fusion” machine. It will use a form of nuclear fusion to generate electricity, a process the company calls safer and more efficient than currently used forms of fission-type nuclear power generation.
For the safety part, “In a stellarator, fusion will extinguish itself within a few seconds if the power plant is damaged … in some way,” the company explains on its website.
It’s also efficient enough that, “Just a single gram of fusion fuel releases as much energy as burning 10,000 kilograms of coal,” the website notes.
“This enormous energy density generates the power for a 250,000-person city for a full year with only a few hundred kilograms of deuterium and lithium.”
Besides the Bull Run research facility in Claxton, Type One Energy also plans to establish a headquarters in Knoxville that would create an additional 200 jobs, the company said.
Wallace said Monday that he had previously brought the project to the attention of the county’s Industrial Development Board under a code name to begin the process of applying for tax incentives.
Now, he will go back to the board seeking a 50% tax break over a 13-year period for the new operation.
The board’s next meeting is at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, in the Regions Bank Building, 245 N. Main St., Clinton. All meetings of the board are open to the public.
“I am very excited that the site of the Bull Run Fossil Plant is so quickly being repurposed to tackle the future energy needs of Tennessee and the nation,” said Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank in an announcement from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
“I’m grateful to Type One Energy, Gov. [Bill] Lee, TNECD, the Tennessee General Assembly and TVA for choosing Anderson County for this project location as part of the larger effort for Tennessee to take the lead in the advancement of nuclear energy,” she said.
“Whether it’s keeping us warm, running a hospital or powering businesses, we rely on energy — and this further effort to develop safe, clean, reliable nuclear [energy] is an enormous win.”
Type One Energy is the first recipient of money through Tennessee’s new $50 million Nuclear Energy Fund, which was proposed by Lee and approved by the General Assembly in the 2023-24 fiscal-year budget, the announcement noted.
“The Nuclear Energy Fund, established by Executive Order 101, was created to support Tennessee’s nuclear development and manufacturing ecosystem by providing assistance to nuclear power-related businesses choosing to relocate or grow in the Volunteer State,” TNECD said.
“TVA is working with our partners to pursue new ideas and innovative solutions that meet growing energy demand in real-world conditions,” said TVA president and CEO Jeff Lyash. “We appreciate this partnership [among] Type One Energy, ORNL, our local power companies and elected and economic development officials as we work together to identify energy technologies for the future.”
Type One Energy’s “sustainable fusion reactor” began as a research project at the University of Wisconsin, Wallace said.
Chief science officer for Type One is Dr. John Canik, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was the previous fusion leader at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.