In an exciting development that brings humanity one step closer to solving the global energy crisis, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced at CES 2026 that it has successfully installed the first magnet in its Sparc fusion reactor—a demonstration device poised to activate next year and potentially revolutionize clean energy forever.

This remarkable achievement represents years of dedication and innovation coming to fruition. The newly installed magnet is the first of 18 massive components that will eventually form a doughnut-shaped configuration, creating an incredibly powerful magnetic field capable of confining and compressing superheated plasma. The ultimate goal? To produce more energy than the system consumes—effectively creating a nearly limitless source of clean power.

"It'll go bang, bang, bang throughout the first half of this year as we put together this revolutionary technology," said Bob Mumgaard, CFS co-founder and CEO, radiating enthusiasm about the accelerated installation schedule. The company expects all 18 magnets to be in place by summer's end.

These aren't ordinary magnets. Each D-shaped component weighs an impressive 24 tons and generates a 20 tesla magnetic field—about 13 times stronger than a typical MRI machine. To put this in perspective, Mumgaard notes these magnets are powerful enough to lift an aircraft carrier. They'll operate at an astonishing -253°C (-423°F), safely conducting over 30,000 amps of current while the plasma inside burns at more than 100 million degrees Celsius.

The magnets sit atop a 24-foot-wide, 75-ton stainless steel cryostat that was positioned last March, creating a foundation for what could become humanity's answer to clean, abundant energy that resembles traditional power plants in form but far exceeds them in potential.

In another thrilling development, CFS has partnered with technology giants Nvidia and Siemens to create a cutting-edge digital twin of the reactor. This virtual replica will allow scientists and engineers to run experiments and adjust parameters in a simulated environment before applying changes to the physical reactor, dramatically accelerating the learning process and reducing risks.

"These are no longer isolated simulations that are just used for design," Mumgaard explained. "They'll be alongside the physical thing the whole way through, and we'll be constantly comparing them to each other."

The project has attracted remarkable support from the global community, with CFS raising nearly $3 billion to date. The company's most recent funding round in August brought in $863 million from an impressive roster of investors including Nvidia, Google, and dozens of others who believe in the fusion future.

While building the first commercial-scale fusion power plant—called Arc—will require several billion more dollars, the potential payoff is extraordinary. After decades of research and development, fusion power is transitioning from distant dream to imminent reality, with CFS and its peers racing to deliver the first fusion-generated electrons to the power grid in the early 2030s.

"We have an urgency for fusion to get to the grid," Mumgaard emphasized, highlighting how advanced machine learning and AI technologies are helping accelerate this timeline. The world is watching with hope as this Massachusetts-based company works to unlock an energy source that could power civilization cleanly and safely for generations to come.