Hyundai Motor Group has invested in Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a U.S. nuclear fusion startup, as part of the company’s $1 billion funding round announced in July. The investment amount was not disclosed and could lead to cooperation beyond financing, including fusion power plant construction and infrastructure development. CFS, spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018, is assembling its SPARC demonstration device in Devens, Massachusetts, using high-temperature superconducting magnets. It plans to demonstrate net energy production with SPARC before developing the ARC commercial fusion plant at a site in Chesterfield County, Virginia. CFS has submitted the first fusion-company grid interconnection application to PJM Interconnection and has partnered with Dominion Energy, targeting delivery of fusion power to the grid in the early 2030s. The company has raised $4 billion since its founding, including the largest single fusion-industry funding round since its $1.8 billion Series B in 2021. Google and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates are among its investors, while Google and Eni have signed power purchase agreements covering more than half of the first plant’s expected output. Hyundai said it would explore ways to apply its industrial, engineering and infrastructure capabilities to the fusion industry. CFS said South Korea’s inclusion of fusion in its seven major SEED programs helped support the partnership. Technological uncertainty remains because SPARC has not yet demonstrated net energy production and the specific Hyundai-CFS collaboration model has not been defined.