Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Novatron Fusion Group (NFG) is a deep-tech energy startup at the forefront of the global race to develop viable fusion energy. The company was founded on the visionary work of Swedish inventor Jan Jäderberg, whose novel magnetic confinement concept promises to overcome the long-standing challenge of plasma instability in fusion reactors.
Novatron’s flagship technology—the NOVATRON system—utilizes a concave magnetic field and a unique mirror-machine design to stabilize fusion plasma at temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius. Unlike conventional tokamak and stellarator models, NOVATRON boasts a theoretically stable and energy-efficient configuration, enabling potentially lower costs and faster scalability. It remains the world’s only known stable mirror-machine design, distinguishing it in a crowded field of fusion contenders.
The company has developed its initial prototype, NOVATRON 1, at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. This prototype has already completed system integration testing, and ongoing experiments are informing the design of the next-generation reactor. Novatron’s team of around 60 experts, including engineers, physicists, and computational scientists, is drawn from 11 countries and collaborates with institutions like the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Oxford Sigma.
In March 2025, Novatron secured a €10 million Series A1 funding round, led by St1, a major Nordic energy company. This strategic partnership not only provided capital but also brought extensive regulatory, industrial, and commercial expertise to the board—highlighted by St1 CEO Henrikki Talvitie joining NFG’s board. The round also included investors like TomEnterprise, Unit E Limited, Axon Partners Group, Climentum Capital, Granitor, Industrifonden, Santander, and KTH Holding, making it a heavily oversubscribed round.
This funding follows two earlier rounds: a $5.4 million seed round in August 2023 and a $3.15 million seed round in December 2022, bringing Novatron’s total funding to over €18 million. The financial backing positions the company strongly to pursue the next phase of its roadmap: scaling up and preparing for commercialization.
Novatron is also a key player in TauEB, an EU-funded fusion research consortium, which includes partners like KTH, the National Science Center Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, and EIT InnoEnergy. This cross-border initiative supports the transition of fusion technologies from lab to market.
With fusion energy seen as a future pillar of global decarbonization, Novatron’s success would have transformative implications. Its technology aligns with the EU’s climate goals and supports energy independence across the Nordics and beyond. If commercialized, NOVATRON could offer a safe, abundant, and fossil-free alternative to current energy sources—making the dream of limitless clean power a tangible reality.
Competing Fusion Startups: Global Players in the Race to Harness the Sun
While Novatron is the Nordic region’s only commercial fusion company, it competes globally with several advanced players:
TAE Technologies (USA) is one of the most well-funded fusion startups, focusing on field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma systems. With over $1.2 billion raised, TAE is targeting hydrogen-boron fuel, which produces no radioactive waste.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a spin-off from MIT, is developing compact tokamak reactors using high-temperature superconducting magnets. With over $2 billion in backing, including from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, CFS is constructing its SPARC reactor.
Helion Energy (USA) also utilizes FRC and has built six prototypes. Its unique approach merges direct electricity conversion with pulsed magnetic confinement.
First Light Fusion (UK) pursues inertial fusion, using a projectile-driven method to collapse a fuel pellet. It aims for simplified engineering and cost-effective operations.
These firms, like Novatron, are chasing the promise of zero-carbon, safe, and sustainable fusion power. Novatron’s competitive edge lies in its stable mirror design, promising simpler and more cost-effective scaling compared to tokamaks and inertial systems.
Photo: Novatron – Erik Odén, founder and chairman of NFG; Henrikki Talviti, CEO of St1 and new board member of NFG; Peter Roos, CEO of NFG; and Inger Frii-Fleerackers, project manager of NOVATRON 1.
