President Donald Trump’s social media company will provide the funding needed to get TAE Technologies’ first fusion power plant up and running in the United States by 2031, TAE CEO Michelle Binderbauer told CNBC on Thursday.
Mr. Binderbauer gave the speech shortly after forming his private company. Trump Media and Technology Group announced an all-stock merger plan with a total value of more than $6 billion.
The CEO said the deal combines Trump Media’s “fortress balance sheet” with TAE’s technology.
“We have the capability and the technology to really scale this,” Binderbauer told CNBC.
“We have the technology to make it happen, but the last piece of the puzzle was capital,” he said. “Now you’re connecting capital with the underlying technology base.”
Nuclear fusion is a form of nuclear power generation that could one day generate vast amounts of energy by fusing atoms together. Although the process powers the sun, it does not produce long-lived radioactive waste, a byproduct of nuclear fission, a process produced in conventional nuclear reactors.
Despite decades of research, scientists and companies have so far been unable to commercialize fusion technology. Fusion ignition was first achieved in a laboratory environment in December 2022.
But Binderbauer said he is bullish on the company’s prospects for reliably producing and selling fusion power, with funding available from Trump Media.
Binderbauer said Trump Media, which operates the Truth Social app, will invest up to $200 million in TAE, with another $100 million expected to be invested after filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The revenue is tiny compared to Trump Media’s market capitalization and balance sheet, which was more than $4 billion as of Thursday.
Trump Media had $3.1 billion in financial assets, including cash and digital assets, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the company said last month.
For the quarter, Trump Media reported a net loss of $54.8 million on revenue of just under $973,000.
TAE and Trump Media said their combined company plans to “build and begin construction on the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant” that will generate an industry-measured 50 megawatts of electricity in 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
TAE plans to scale up future fusion power plants to produce 350 to 500 megawatts of electricity, Binderbauer said. Traditional nuclear fission nuclear power plants can produce about two to three times more power, depending on the reactor.
“Fusion power will be the most dramatic energy advance since commercial nuclear power began in the 1950s,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a conference call Thursday.
“Innovations that will lower energy prices, increase supply, secure America’s AI advantage, revive America’s manufacturing base, and strengthen our national defense,” Nunes said.
Trump Media’s investment comes as the artificial intelligence boom has power companies scrambling to secure enough power to build data centers across the country.
In October, the Department of Energy announced a national strategy to accelerate the commercialization of fusion.
“Working with TAE, we will gain access to capital and public markets to expand TAE’s vision of bringing abundant nuclear energy to the grid,” Nunes said.
Nunes, a former congressman from California, and Binderbauer will serve as co-CEOs of the combined company.
“Mr. Nunes will continue to lead all Trump Media brand operations. Mr. Binderbauer will be responsible for managing TAE Technologies,” the news release said.
TAE was founded in 1998 with Ernest Moniz, who served as Secretary of Energy in the Obama administration, as a board member.
Since then, the company has raised more than $1.3 billion in private capital in 12 funding rounds from investors including: chevron and the alphabet google.
Asked why TAE didn’t sign a deal with one of its previous investors, Binderbauer said Trump Media acted quickly and boldly.
“We have these partnerships, but this is where this moved,” Binderbauer said.
“You just have to reduce it to simple factors, and that’s what really makes the difference,” he said. “We’re going to build power plants. We’re going to take this technology to a commercial level.”
According to Binderbauer, TAE has not yet decided on the location of the planned factory or reached a shipping agreement.
“We’re going through the process on that,” he said. “We have a game plan, which we will announce as soon as it is ready.”
Michael Schwab will serve as chairman of the combined company’s nine-member board of directors.
Donald Trump Jr., Nunes, and Binderbauer serve as directors. The remaining five members have not yet been decided.
