Environment & Energy

Going to the grid: CFS applies to plug our first ARC fusion power plant into PJM

April 28, 2026by Ben Byboth [Director, Power Business Development & Strategy]

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has pioneered another step of the journey to fusion energy, applying to connect our first ARC fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia to the world’s largest wholesale electricity market, PJM Interconnection.

Compared to other steps on the fusion commercialization path — developing our technology, raising our funds, building our supply chain — it might not be obvious why requesting a spot on the power grid is so important. So I’d like to explain what we did and why it’s a big deal.

When we submitted a Generation Interconnection Request last week with PJM, we became the first fusion power plant developer to take this definitive step with a major grid operator — pairing the breakthrough technology of fusion with real-world infrastructure to power our future. This is a bridge from the science phase of fusion energy to the real-world impact.

Although fusion energy on the grid is new, the path we’re taking to get it there isn’t. We’re applying for a home on the PJM system just like any other power plant must, and in many ways, our fusion power plant will look just like the 1,400 or so other interconnected generators already there. It’ll be just another source of electricity, except that instead of using the heat from burning coal or natural gas to boil water for a steam turbine, we’ll use the heat from the fusion process. That means our ARC plants can be the new building blocks for the grid, swapping in for older decommissioned coal or gas plants and arriving where demand is growing, capitalizing on the same grid infrastructure that exists today.

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