AsianFin--Fusion startup Type One Energy Group has secured an additional $53.5 million to advance the development of commercial power plants utilizing fusion technology akin to the processes that fuel stars.

The funding round was spearheaded by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, along with GD1 from New Zealand and Centaurus Capital. This new investment complements the $29 million the company raised last year from Breakthrough, TDK Ventures, and Doral Energy Tech Ventures.

Type One’s innovative approach involves using powerful magnets to manage a superheated plasma cloud to achieve nuclear fusion, which fuses atoms rather than splitting them.

CEO Chris Mowry stated that the new capital will enable the company—based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee—to complete the initial phase of its power plant design by mid-2025 and to test advanced magnet technology. However, a commercial power plant remains several years away.