Bristol-based deep tech firm Astral Systems is developing a new type of nuclear fusion technology. The company has secured £23m in the first close of a Series A investment round led by Mercia Ventures.
The funding will enable the company to use its proprietary multi-state fusion (MSF) technology to develop medical isotopes that are critical for cancer diagnosis and treatment, expand production of its modular reactors and advance fusion research. The business is developing a new high-energy facility at the former Berkeley Power Station in Gloucestershire.
By the end of the year, it intends to be running multiple reactors at full capacity and to bring one or more medical isotopes to market in 2027. Over the following years, it aims to manufacture dozens more reactors and expand their use across other commercial sectors.
Astral Systems was founded by Talmon Firestone, an entrepreneur in the field of nuclear fusion, and Dr Tom Wallace-Smith, a nuclear physicist with previous experience in Rolls-Royce’s nuclear submarines team. Already, the company has established neutron source irradiation facilities and generated more than £3m in revenue from commercial and research contracts.
Currently, it is working with partners from industry and academia on a number of research projects to produce radioisotopes and nuclear fuels. The company, which currently employs 23 people, plans to increase the size of its team to more than 40 by the end of 2026. The latest investment brings the total raised to date to more than £28m.
The capital will support its mission to become the world’s most impactful fusion company, from bolstering the supply of radiotherapeutics to save lives, to exploring clean, safe hybrid power sources and future space exploration.
Talmon Firestone, CEO and co-founder of Astral Systems, said: “We are rewriting how we approach fusion and, in doing so, redefining what it means to be a fusion company. This is evident in our novel technology and its near-term applications in modern medicine, as well as facilitating the search for hybrid energy. With this new funding we can accelerate our ambition of building a profitable, impactful fusion business, and build on the momentum of the past 12 months with the backing of our investors.”
Image source: Astral Systems
