TechCrunch
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Fusion startups have raised $7.1 billion to date, with the majority of it going to a handful of companies.
If startups are able to complete commercially viable fusion power plants, they have the potential to upend trillion-dollar markets.
The technology may be challenging to master and expensive to build today , but fusion promises to harness the nuclear reaction that powers the sun.
Zap Energy isn't using superconducting magnets or super-powerful lasers to keep its plasma confined.
Instead, it zaps the plasma with an electric current, which then generates its own magnetic field.
That improves the stability of the plasma, allowing more time for fusion to occur and for more heat to be extracted.