The parent company of Truth Social is merging with a private nuclear fusion company in an effort to help “America win the A.I. revolution.” There’s just one problem: Nuclear fusion still has many technical and economic hurdles to clear before it’s ready for commercial use.
Trump Media and Technology Group and TAE Technologies announced Thursday that they’ve agreed to a merger valued at roughly $6 billion. Once the deal closes, it could create one of the world’s first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.
The merger isn’t expected to close until mid-2026, but the companies are already touting ambitious plans. According to a press release, the combined company expects to break ground on what it calls the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant in 2026. That plant is expected to produce 50 megawatts of energy, enough to power roughly 15,000 homes. The companies also said they are planning to work on larger future plants that can generate between 350 and 500 megawatts.
“We’re excited to identify our first site and begin deploying this revolutionary technology that we expect to fundamentally transform America’s energy supply,” said TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer in the release.
Under the terms of the deal, Binderbauer would serve as co-CEO of the merged company alongside Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes.
Trump Media launched shortly after President Donald Trump’s first term in office. Initially rumored to become a television network, the company instead debuted the social media platform Truth Social, which has struggled to gain traction with both users and advertisers. Since then, Trump Media has branched out into other ventures, including cryptocurrency.
Shares of Trump Media are down roughly 70% so far this year, though they jumped more than 20% in premarket trading following the merger announcement.
For its part, TAE Technologies was founded in 1998 and has raised over $1 billion from major backers including Google, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Goldman Sachs.
Unlike nuclear fission, the technology used in today’s nuclear power plants and produces long-term radioactive waste, fusion mimics the process that powers the sun. It works by combining atoms to release massive amounts of energy. In theory, fusion can use hydrogen as fuel, produce no greenhouse gas emissions, and carry no risk of a meltdown. A single kilogram of fusion fuel can release as much energy as roughly 13,000 tons of coal, according to the University of Pennsylvania.
The catch is that no one has yet built a fusion reactor or plant that reliably generates electricity on a commercial scale.
Among fusion’s biggest challenges is cost. Today, fusion remains significantly more expensive than alternatives like fossil fuels or renewable sources, such as solar energy. Nuclear fusion reactors also require advanced and costly materials that can withstand the extreme temperatures and radiation produced during the fusion process. And while fusion relies on hydrogen isotopes for fuel, one of those isotopes is extremely rare in nature and expensive to produce.
Still, Binderbauer told investors on a call Thursday that the company plans to achieve “first power” by 2031.
TAE isn’t alone in pitching an aggressive timeline. Helion Energy, a fusion startup backed by Sam Altman, began construction this year on a fusion power plant it says will supply electricity to Microsoft data centers by 2028.
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