OpenStar is a Kiwi startup chasing nuclear fusion, the same reaction that powers the sun. If it works at scale, it means almost limitless clean energy.
The breakthrough
OpenStar floated a 550kg magnet inside a 5 metre vacuum chamber heated past one million degrees Celsius. They say it makes them the first commercial company to create and confine plasma using a levitated dipole reactor.
When they pulled it off, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and All Blacks legend Richie McCaw were watching from a room above the chamber.
The scale of the bet
Around 50 companies worldwide are racing for fusion, backed by close to US$10 billion from the likes of Bezos and Gates. OpenStar’s prototype cost under $10 million.
The New Zealand government has since backed them with a loan of up to NZ$35 million to build a facility for their next machine. A loan, not a giveaway.
The founder
Founded in 2021 by physicist Ratu Mataira, in a country already running on 80%+ renewable power.
My read
Fusion is a long, expensive race and most entrants will not finish it. But OpenStar has shown a result for a fraction of what others have spent. That is the Kiwi way of doing hard things, and it is wild ambition worth backing.