General Fusion set to become first public 'pure-play' fusion company

General Fusion has announced a definitive business combination agreement with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp, positioning itself to become the world’s first publicly traded “pure-play” fusion company with a pro-forma equity value of about $1 billion. This valuation includes $105 million from a committed PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) and $230 million from Spring Valley’s trust capital. The capital raised will primarily fund the Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) program, which is currently operational and represents the world’s first large-scale demonstration machine for Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF). Unlike other fusion approaches relying on superconducting magnets or lasers, General Fusion’s MTF technology uses mechanical pistons to compress plasma within a liquid lithium liner, aiming to achieve key fusion milestones such as heating plasma to 100 million degrees Celsius and ultimately meeting the Lawson criterion for net fusion energy production. General Fusion’s approach emphasizes durability and cost-effectiveness by using a liquid metal wall to protect the fusion vessel from neutron damage and capture energy, potentially