Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) 周四宣布，将从美国政府获得 8500 万美元，用于为聚变发电行业开发先进芯片。
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced on Thursday that it would receive $85 million from the U.S. government to develop advanced chips for the fusion power industry.
聚变发电初创公司一直在竞相完成首台演示装置，CFS 计划在明年某个时候启动其 Sparc 反应堆。但建成一座反应堆只是一个验证点。如果聚变初创公司想要建设数十座商用电厂，就需要更耐用的功率电子器件和强健的供应链。
Fusion power startups have been racing to complete their first demonstration devices, with CFS aiming to turn on its Sparc reactor sometime next year. But building one reactor is just a proof point. If fusion startups want to build dozens of commercial power plants, they’ll need more durable power electronics and a robust supply chain.
公司表示，商务部根据《芯片与科学法案》颁发的这项新奖励，还将授予政府在 CFS 的股份，将有助于提升美国半导体的研发和制造能力。
The new CHIPS Act award from the Department of Commerce, which also grants the government a stake in CFS, will help boost R&D and manufacturing capacity for semiconductors in the U.S., the company said.
“归根结底，这意味着更强大、更经济的电厂，以及一个更强健的美国供应链来建设它，”CFS 联合创始人兼首席科学官 Brandon Sorbom 在一篇博客文章中写道。CFS 的这笔奖励将用于支持五项不同计划。
“Ultimately, that means a more capable, economical power plant and a stronger U.S. supply chain to build it,” Brandon Sorbom, co-founder and chief science officer at CFS, wrote in a blog post. CFS’s award will go toward supporting five different initiatives.
第一项是推进碳化硅功率电子技术。这种半导体广泛用于管理高压，见于从 LED、电动汽车到手机基站和数据中心的各种设备。它也用于聚变装置，那里利用强烈的电脉冲驱动超导磁体，以在反应堆内约束等离子体。
The first is the advancement of silicon carbide power electronics. The semiconductors are widely used to manage high voltages, and they’re found in everything from LEDs and EVs to cell phone base stations and data centers. It’s also used in fusion machines, where intense bursts of electricity are used to drive the superconducting magnets that confine plasma inside a reactor.
CFS 还将利用这笔奖励开发下一代射频功率发生器，公司用它来加热聚变燃料，以及先进电子设备，以实现对反应堆的更快控制并强化抗辐射能力。后者有助于延长聚变电厂内部电子设备的使用寿命，降低运营成本。
CFS will also use the award to develop next-generation radio-frequency power generators, which the company uses to heat fusion fuel, and advanced electronics that will enable faster control of the reactor and be hardened against radiation. The latter could help extend the lifespan of electronics within a fusion power plant, reducing operating costs.
最后，CFS 计划利用部分《芯片法案》奖励，将 GPU 和 TPU 等 AI 硬件改造适配到电厂中。
Lastly, CFS plans to use part of the CHIPS award to adapt AI hardware like GPUs and TPUs for power plants.
“这笔资金将在加速聚变能源向电网迈进的同时，帮助改善美国芯片和功率电子产业，”Sorbom 说。
“The funding would help improve the U.S. chip and power electronics industries at the same time it accelerates fusion energy’s progress toward the electrical grid,” Sorbom said.