RICHMOND, British Columbia, Feb. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, General Fusion announced the appointment of Tony Donné as Chair of its Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC). Tony is one of the world’s foremost fusion experts, with nearly 40 years of scientific research and technology development in the field. Tony most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of EUROfusion, a consortium of 31 fusion research organizations from 29 European countries. Prior to EUROfusion, Tony was head of the Fusion Physics Division at DIFFER and Director of the ITER-Netherlands program. In 2023, he was selected by the European Patent Office as one of the 10 Leading Tech Voices in the industries of the future.

Tony joins General Fusion’s impressive STAC as the company prepares to scientifically validate its Magnetized Target Fusion technology for the next phase of commercialization. General Fusion’s STAC includes top minds in plasma physics and fusion engineering, all with deep connections in the global scientific community. The STAC has historically advised the company throughout its technology development roadmap. Over the next two years, it will play an integral role in examining the technical plans and results from General Fusion’s new Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) and advising the company as it charts its path to commercialization. Tony replaces outgoing STAC Chair, Martin Cox, who has been advising General Fusion since 2020 and will continue to serve as a committee member.

“General Fusion’s deeply engaged Science and Technology Advisory Committee is one of our biggest assets,” said Greg Twinney, CEO, General Fusion. “For the past decade, Tony has coordinated the work of thousands of scientists and engineers around a common goal: developing a fusion power plant. His expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we prepare to deliver commercial fusion energy to the grid by the early to mid-2030s.”

Greg added, “I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to our outgoing Chair, Martin Cox. His leadership on the STAC has been instrumental in our rapid technical progress over the past four years.”

“General Fusion’s Magnetized Target Fusion technology has several profound advantages that make it one of the most promising approaches I’ve seen for practical commercial fusion,” said Tony Donné. “I’ve investigated the technology several times over the past 14 years and have seen first-hand the strong foundation of plasma science and engineering excellence it is built upon. This technology is advancing rapidly, and I’m excited to be a part of the company’s path to commercialization.”

General Fusion’s LM26 is on track to achieve fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius by 2025 and progress toward scientific breakeven equivalent by 2026. In addition to advising General Fusion on its path to achieving these transformative near-term milestones, the STAC will provide critical input into the design of the company’s planned near-commercial machine – the next major step after significantly de-risking the science and engineering of its Magnetized Target Fusion with its ground-breaking LM26 fusion demonstration.

General Fusion Science and Technology Advisory Committee members:

  • Tony Donné, Ph.D., Chair of General Fusion’s STAC and the former CEO of EUROfusion.
  • Martin Cox, M.A., former Director at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), and current advisor to its Chief Executive Officer.
  • Mike Dunne, Ph.D., Director of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) facility operated by Stanford University on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.
  • Ned Sauthoff, Ph.D., former Director of the US ITER Project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory​.
  • Kurt Schoenberg, Ph.D., Deputy Collaboration Spokesperson for the High Energy Density Physics Collaboration at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research under construction in Darmstadt, Germany, and former Director of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Centre​.

To learn more, please visit generalfusion.com/about/leadership.

About General Fusion

General Fusion is pursuing a fast and practical approach to commercial fusion energy and is headquartered in Richmond, Canada. The company was established in 2002 and is funded by a global syndicate of leading energy venture capital firms, industry leaders and technology pioneers. Learn more at www.generalfusion.com.

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