SMBC invests in fusion energy start-up

It aims to accelerate the establishment of fusion power reactors’ supply chains.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has invested in Commonwealth Fusion Systems LLC (CFS), a US-based startup company in the fusion energy space.

By leveraging CFS’s advanced technologies and knowledge in fusion power generation, SMBC aims to take advantage of its customer base and financial solutions to accelerate the establishment of supply chains centered on fusion power reactors, it said in a press release on 2 September 2025.

This is SMBC’s first investment in a fusion-related start-up company.

This comes at the heels of the Japanese government revising its “Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy” in June 2025, moving the domestic target for the demonstration of fusion power generation to the 2030s from 2050 previously.

Fusion energy science is defined as a field focused on the science needed to develop an energy source based on controlled fusion, according to the US Department of Energy. Fusion occurs when two nuclei combine to form a new nucleus. This process occurs in our Sun and other stars, according to the DOE.