After 61 Years of Coal, This Site Will Host a 100-Million-Degree Artificial Sun Built by Bill Gates
On January 29, 2026, Type One Energy, backed by Bill Gates, submitted its initial licensing application to build a stellarator-based fusion facility at the former Bull Run Fossil Plant site. The project, named Infinity One, aims to push plasma to 100 million degrees Celsius using a complex magnetic design.
The demolition of Bull Run’s twin smokestacks on June 28 ended 61 years of coal-fired generation in Claxton, Tennessee. That moment marked not just the closure of a fossil fuel facility, but the opening of a new chapter in electricity production at the same location.
Type One Energy had selected the Bull Run site in February 2024 as the home for its testbed reactor. With the licensing process now underway, the company is preparing to transform the brownfield site into a fusion research and development hub, centered on a technology that differs sharply from the more familiar tokamak approach.
A Twisted Path to Fusion Power
Infinity One is based on a stellarator configuration, an alternative to the tokamak magnetic confinement systems typically used in nuclear fusion. Both concepts confine plasma in a donut-shaped chamber. The distinction lies in the magnetic architecture: stellarators use a twisted and highly complex array of magnetic coils to maintain plasma stability while raising temperatures toward 100 million degrees Celsius.
Experts believe stellarators could avoid many of the stability issues that have historically challenged tokamaks. Yet their intricate geometry makes them difficult to construct. As reported by Popular Mechanics, this engineering complexity has long limited the widespread deployment of stellarator systems.
Type One Energy’s team includes founders who previously worked on the Helically Symmetric Experiment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and on the Wendelstein 7-X in Greifswald, Germany, currently the largest stellarator in operation.
A Phased Plan on a Repurposed Energy Site
The Tennessee site is designed to host more than a single prototype. According to the company, the campus will include the Infinity One reactor, a workforce training center, and the future Infinity Two fusion power plant, planned at 350 MWe.
Development is structured in multiple phases. The first phase targets commissioning and startup of Infinity One by 2029. The timeline suggests a relatively rapid progression from licensing to operation, a prospect that has drawn measured skepticism given the technical demands of stellarator construction.
The choice of Bull Run reflects a broader movement known as “repurposed energy,” in which new energy technologies occupy former fossil fuel infrastructure. Form Energy built its Form Factory 1 for iron-air batteries in Weirton, West Virginia, a former steel town. In Lincoln, Maine, what is expected to become the world’s largest battery is rising at the site of a former paper mill. TerraPower, another Gates-backed venture focused on fission, is being built near a retiring coal facility in Kemmerer, Wyoming, with non-nuclear construction beginning in June 2024.
Licensing and Safety by Design
The licensing application submitted on January 29, 2026, is intended to lay the groundwork for constructing the fusion facility in Clinton, Tennessee. Company executives emphasize collaboration with regulators from the outset.
“We’ve been working closely together since February 2024, sharing relevant design information and knowledge that is essential to establish the appropriate licensing conditions for a fusion power plant,” CEO Christofer Mowry said in a press statement. He described the process as positioning Tennessee as an international model of “safety by design” and transparency in fusion licensing.
Building a stellarator capable of delivering reliable, grid-level power remains a significant undertaking. Securing the location and beginning the licensing process are early steps. The larger objective, realizing the long-promised vision of fusion as a large-scale energy source, will depend on the successful construction and operation of Infinity One at a site that once burned coal and is now being prepared to confine a miniature star.