Seattle-area fusion energy startups are making major noise this year, and one more recently joined the raucous fundraising.
According to a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tukwila-based fusion energy startup Avalanche Energy has raised $23.3 million, joining other local fusion companies Zap Energy and Helion in raising funding rounds in the past 12 months.
Avalanche didn't provide additional information on the raise.
According to the SEC filing, Avalanche is looking to raise an additional $16.7 million, bringing the total round to $40 million. Matthew Nordan is listed as a director in the filing. Nordan is a general partner at the Massachusetts-based climate-tech venture capital firm Azolla Ventures, according to his LinkedIn page.
Avalanche is developing "micro fusion power packs" that are the size of a lunch pail, according to its website. The company, which launched in 2018, says its smaller fusion energy packs are easy to manufacture and cheaper than other fusion projects. Its technology doesn't require giant lasers or magnets.
Despite the sizable round for the young company, Avalanche's fundraise is a fraction of other major funding events that fusion companies have reported in the past 12 months. Everett-based Zap Energy raised $160 million in June. Helion, also based in Everett, raised $500 million in November.
Fusion companies aim to create carbon-free energy by using heat to make atomic particles collide and release energy, but the goal has proven for decades. According to the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, fusion reactors hit 150 million degrees Celsius, or 10 times hotter than the center of the sun. Creating a facility to withstand the heat and pressure while still producing energy is a serious challenge.
The SEC filing lists Robin Langtry as Avalanche's president. Langtry spent close to six years at Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin, according to his LinkedIn page.
