Nuclear fusion works by combining two atoms and generating electricity in the process. Compared to nuclear fission used currently by nuclear powerplants around the world, which implies splitting atoms, nuclear fusion is much safer, although technically not possible currently at commercial scale.

This is where companies like Zap Energy come in, as they work to bring nuclear fusion processes on a commercial scale, enabling safer and cleaner electricity generation in the future. Fusion has another important benefit for the future of waste-free energy, as it does not output the same radioactive waste as fission power plants, which needs special handling and disposal.

Washington-based Zap Energy was founded in 2017 and according to ESG Today, the company builds a cheap and scalable small nuclear reactor for fusion processes that could accelerate the deployment of these facilities. Zap's upcoming reactor, dubbed Century, was already tested for almost three hours in a successful energy production process.

Zap CEO Benj Conway said that "at Zap, we’re attempting to swim, cycle and run at the same time – such a parallel approach is key to delivering commercial fusion on a timescale that matters. Century is a vital part of the engineering leg and we’re quickly coming up to speed."

Soros Fund Management LLC led the funding round, which saw participation from the likes of BAM Elevate and Emerson Collective.