Mizuho Financial Group has invested in U.S. startup Zap Energy, which is working on the world’s first low-cost, compact, scalable nuclear fusion system for commercial-scale power plants. The investment was the first time a Japanese bank took a stake in a nuclear fusion venture overseas.
Mizuho Innovation Frontier, the bank’s investment arm, joined Zap’s recent $130 million funding round as the only Japanese investor. While Mizuho’s exact investment remains undisclosed, it is estimated to be around $654 million.
Founded as an independent research initiative of the University of Washington and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2017, Zap Energy has emerged as a global leader in fusion energy as it attracted investors like Chevron, Shell, and Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Nuclear fusion, the energy sector’s Holy Grail that will deliver immense power using minimal fuel and emitting no greenhouse gases, is gaining momentum worldwide.
Mizuho wants to connect Zap Energy with Japanese companies in the fusion energy supply chain, recognizing that Japan possesses strengths in durable turbine and reactor technology. Some Japanese components are already used in experimental fusion reactors.
Nuclear fusion, the energy sector’s Holy Grail that will deliver immense power using minimal fuel and emitting no greenhouse gases, is gaining momentum worldwide. Investments in fusion energy technology have tripled over the past two years to around $6.2 billion as of mid-2023, with most startups located in the United States and Europe.
Zap Energy’s unique approach employs a technique known as the Z-pinch, which compresses plasma with a magnetic field created by an electric current. Traditional fusion reactors use superconducting magnets.
Other Japanese companies investing in fusion energy technology include Sumitomo Corp. and Furukawa Electric.
