- Hefai startup bets on FRC approach to compact fusion reactors
- China’s fusion investment accelerates as policy tailwinds and capital converge
Hefei-based nuclear fusion energy startup UniFusion (聚合聚变) has raised several hundred million yuan in an angel funding round just over two months after its founding.
It attracted heavyweight investors including GL Ventures, HongShan, Cowin Partners, Hefei Innovation Investment, Baidu.venture and Guoyuan Securities’ private equity arm.
The deal marks a rare early-stage co-investment by GL Ventures and HongShan, and is also the first investment under Hefei’s future fusion energy fund, according to the company.
Founded in March 2026, UniFusion is led by Kong Defeng, a plasma physics PhD from the University of Science and Technology of China and professor at Hefei University of Technology’s School of Fusion Science and Engineering.
Kong also serves as chief scientist on a national key R&D program.
The startup’s core team includes fusion scientists and engineers from leading domestic and international institutions, spanning plasma diagnostics, high-power pulsed systems and AI-for-fusion research.
Togethery, they form an integrated pipeline from theory and simulation to engineering and testing.
Focusing on FRC route
UniFusion is pursuing a field-reversed configuration (FRC) approach to fusion, which differs from larger tokamak systems by using a more compact design and lower construction costs.
FRC devices also come with high-frequency pulsed magnetic fields to confine high-density plasma.
The approach is seen as a potential path toward smaller and more commercially viable fusion reactors.
US peer Helion Energy recently raised $465 million in Series G funding at a $15.5 billion valuation and signed a power purchase agreement with Microsoft.
This has provided a commercial benchmark for the FRC pathway.
UniFusion has laid out a staged roadmap, targeting first plasma discharge in early 2027, full-system FRC operation in 2028, and pursuit of fusion ignition conditions around 2030.
The company is also working to commercialize key subsystems such as modular pulsed power systems and high-power solid-state switching arrays.
Initial small-batch deliveries are expected this year to research institutes and industrial clients in aerospace and semiconductors, creating early revenue streams.
Policy support
Fusion energy has been formally included in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) as a strategic future industry, adding policy support to a sector historically constrained by long development cycles.
Investors say the team’s technical depth and localization capabilities position it as a potential benchmark player in China’s FRC fusion space, leveraging Hefei’s growing fusion ecosystem.
Hefei now hosts nearly 70 fusion-related companies and a dense cluster of major research infrastructure, including EAST, CRAFT and BEST facilities.
The University of Science and Technology of China and the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science anchor the ecosystem through their research capabilities, talent pipelines and decades of expertise in plasma physics and fusion science.
UniFusion is seen as the second major FRC-focused breakout company from the city after Xeonova (星能玄光), underscoring Hefei’s emergence as a broader hub for multiple fusion technology pathways beyond tokamak systems.
