Avalanche Energy Raises $29M for Tabletop Fusion Machines

Avalanche Energy, a startup in Seattle, announced on Tuesday that it raised $29 million to build small fusion machines. These devices aim to produce clean power and can fit on a table right now. The company wants to power places like the moon, underwater vehicles, and military bases with them. Investors see promise in this different take on fusion, which uses high voltages to trap plasma particles in tight orbits around an electrode.

Background

Fusion power copies how the sun makes energy by smashing atoms together. Most companies build huge machines, like doughnut-shaped tokamaks with giant magnets or lasers that blast fuel pellets. Avalanche takes another path. It uses electric currents at very high voltages to pull plasma into spinning paths. Magnets help keep it in line, but they are not as big as in other setups. This lets the particles speed up, crash, and fuse.

The company started in Seattle to make fusion small and quick to build. Small size means they can test changes fast, sometimes twice a week. Their current machine is just nine centimeters across. A bigger one, 25 centimeters wide, is coming and could make one megawatt of power. Avalanche has hit key steps, like running at 300,000 volts over a tiny gap of two and a half inches. That is a record for their type of fusion.

They have put out papers on their method, called Orbitron. One from August 2024 explains how it traps high-energy ions and electrons. Another from September 2025 covers better ion loading at 100,000 volts. A December 2025 paper details a new vacuum part for 300,000 volts. More papers are planned for this year.

Avalanche also got a $10 million grant from Washington state in July 2025. This new cash matches that and helps growth. So far, they have pulled in $80 million total from backers. That is less than some rivals who have hundreds of millions or billions.

Key Details

The funding round was led by RA Capital Management. New backers include 8090 Industries and Overlay Capital. Old ones like Congruent Ventures, Founders Fund, Lowercarbon Capital, and Toyota Ventures all joined in again.

The money goes to several things. Most will build out FusionWERX, their test site in Richland, Washington. It opened in April 2025 as the first big commercial spot for fusion tests. It will handle radioactive stuff and tritium by 2027 under a special license. Tritium is key fuel for many fusion plans. Avalanche will test its own gear there, aiming for a deuterium-tritium run where output beats input, called Q greater than 1.

Other cash buys team members, long-wait gear like superconducting magnets, and next machines. These could make neutrons for testing materials, space work, defense, or power grids. The small designs stack for more power and work in hard spots without big grids, like data centers or subs.

Robin Langtry, CEO and co-founder, said the past six months brought big wins in plasma physics.

"We've achieved significant breakthroughs on the plasma physics side that have kept us intensely focused on advancing our technology over the past six months," said Robin Langtry, CEO and co-founder of Avalanche Energy. "The new funding will enable us to accelerate the company to the next phase – achieving licensing for commercial-scale fusion operations and preparing for our Deuterium-Tritium Q>1 test program."

Technical Milestones

Avalanche hit a vacuum high-voltage mark in 2025 at 300,000 volts, or 5,000 kilovolts per meter. This helps their magneto-electrostatic fusion. They push for steady neutron output and high fusion rates. FusionWERX will train workers and test for the whole field, not just Avalanche.

Kyle Teamey from RA Capital said:

"Avalanche is unique among companies in the fusion space in its ability to rapidly iterate to improve and advance its compact modular technology as well as its ability to generate near-term revenue prior to energy break-even," said Kyle Teamey, Managing Partner, Planetary Health at RA Capital Management.

Rayyan Islam from 8090 Industries added:

"What drew us to Avalanche is their focus on commercial systems, not just experiments," said Rayyan Islam co-founder and General Partner of 8090 Industries.

What This Means

Small fusion could change power for spots hard to reach. Think lunar bases, deep-sea drones, or bases far from grids. It might make isotopes, test radiation effects, or drive ships. The fast build-test-fix loop speeds things up compared to years for big machines.

FusionWERX opens doors for others too. It gives a place to test without building from scratch. If Avalanche hits Q>1, it proves small works. Langtry sees big news in fusion from 2027 to 2029, like rivals Commonwealth Fusion Systems or Helion.

This cash shows belief in compact fusion. It funds steps to sell before full power break-even, like neutron services. Stacking modules means endless scaling. For defense and space, mobile power is huge. Commercial side could hit remote sites or backups.

Avalanche bets size lets them move fast to market. Their path covers physics to products. The industry shifts as small players show they can deliver tools others need now, while chasing net energy.