Avalanche Energy Awarded $10 Million Grant from Washington State to Develop FusionWERX Neutron Factory

Award and 300,000-Volt technological breakthrough position Avalanche to unlock key commercial revenue from fusion devices

SEATTLE, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Avalanche Energy, a fusion energy startup developing modular compact fusion machines, today announced it was awarded $10 million through the Washington State Department of Commerce Green Jobs Grant Program for the development of its FusionWERX test facility in Richland, Wash. The facility is a first-of-its-kind commercial-scale testing facility for advanced fusion technologies that will leverage a broad scope radioactive materials license, advanced tritium management capabilities, and the company's breakthrough 300,000 Volt (300kV) fusion device.

"This announcement marks small-scale fusion's evolution from a laboratory curiosity into a neutron source that creates real-world value," said Robin Langtry, CEO of Avalanche Energy. "The Green Jobs Grant and our 300kV breakthrough are the groundwork for delivering high-flux neutrons at low cost to a wide range of customers who lack reliable, scalable neutron sources necessary for their operations. The milestone, which we targeted as part of our Series A, unlocks a key source of early revenue and strengthens our path to compact, energy-generating fusion devices."

From Voltage Breakthrough to Neutron Factory 
Avalanche's breakthrough - operating its desk-sized magneto-electrostatic fusion machine at 300kV for hours with minimal power loss - makes it the most compact, highest-known-voltage fusion device ever built. Adjusted for size, the 300kV held by Avalanche's device for multiple hours equals 6 MegaVolts per meter (MV/m), double the voltage density of lightning, which peaks at 3 MV/m for only a split second.

"For magneto-electrostatic fusion machines the ability to operate at very high voltage gradients with low current losses is a key unlock to push these fusion machines to higher fusion triple products and neutron rates," said Langtry. "This 300 kV milestone at 6 MV/m is also an important foundational building block to our future path building Q>1 magneto-electrostatic Orbitron fusion machines."

Combined with the advanced tritium capabilities of the FusionWERX facility, Avalanche's ability to operate its fusion device at 300kV unlocks the key step for using tritium to produce continuous high-flux fusion neutrons at a rate and cost-per-neutron orders of magnitude better than previously achievable. Neutron products generated by this process will eventually be used to create medical and power radioisotopes and to test new materials such as radiation-tolerant alloys. In addition, Avalanche will also operate the FusionWERX facility as a commercial "wind-tunnel" - offering access to private companies, universities, national laboratories, and public-private consortia to test their fusion technologies at the facility under commercial intellectual property (IP) ownership arrangements.

Strategic Public-Sector Partnerships
The Washington State Department of Commerce Green Jobs Grant, which provides funds for projects that promote the growth of clean energy, will directly support approximately 12 skilled positions and will fund the purchase of first-generation neutron-handling equipment for the facility. The FusionWERX commercial test activities are expected to expand significantly in future years and will help spur follow-on growth of a fusion workforce and supply chain in the Richland area. This may include a special high-flux neutron test stand for advanced fusion materials research, dubbed a micro Fusion Prototypical Neutron Source (uFPNS), and Avalanche's Q>1 deuterium-tritium fusion energy test program. 

"By supporting Avalanche's FusionWERX facility, Washington is translating cutting-edge fusion science into family-wage jobs and a resilient clean-energy supply chain," said Joe Nguyen, Director of the Washington State Department of Commerce. "It's exactly the kind of community-driven innovation our Green Jobs program exists to champion."

FusionWERX is strategically located in the Tri-Cities region, home to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a leader in energy technology research; and Washington State University's Tri-Cities campus, with its well-regarded nuclear engineering and materials program, which will enable Avalanche to leverage the area's deep nuclear and scientific expertise to become a hub for fusion technology development and job creation. The facility is located in a facility owned by the Port of Benton, the former location of Kurion's modular detritiation prototype facility, which was previously licensed for tritium operations.

"The Tri-Cities' legacy in nuclear science makes Richland the perfect launchpad for FusionWERX," said Karl Dye, President and CEO of TRIDEC. "Avalanche's facility will attract new talent, new companies, and new investment to our area while reinforcing the region's leadership in the clean-energy economy."

About Avalanche Fusion
Avalanche Energy develops stackable, compact fusion machines for austere and mobile applications - from autonomous underwater vehicles to off-grid data centers. Rapid design-build-test-learn cycles create near-term neutron markets while paving the way to economical, portable fusion power. Learn more at avalanchefusion.com.

SOURCE Avalanche Energy