Fusion Energy Takes to the Seas: Plan to Install First Reactor on a Ship Activated

Metaverse Planet November 26, 2025Last Updated: November 26, 2025

2 minutes read

Fusion, gaining speed with artificial intelligence and superconducting magnets, has now become a question of “when.” Believing it can compete with expensive ammonia and hydrogen fuels, Maritime Fusion has received a $4.5 million investment to install its first power plant on a ship. Although only a single fusion device globally has passed the critical scientific threshold so far, a major step is being taken for the future of the energy world. Maritime Fusion CEO Justin Cohen is preparing to install their developed fusion reactor on a vessel.

Thanks to rapid advancements in AI, computing capacity, and superconducting magnets, fusion energy is now closer than ever to becoming a commercial reality. This technology promises to generate massive amounts of clean energy from water, an abundant fuel source. In fact, the idea of placing a reactor on a ship is not entirely new. Today, submarines and aircraft carriers powered by nuclear fission reactors are already operating at sea. These vessels are quiet, powerful, and can operate for decades without needing to refuel. “Fission absolutely paved the way for nuclear power on ships,” says Cohen, co-founder of Maritime Fusion.

Fusion energy will provide similar capabilities to ships but will eliminate concerns such as meltdown, proliferation, or radiation. Cohen states that they are the first company preparing to make this breakthrough in the maritime sector: “We are the first people to really explore what it’s like to put a tokamak (the leading fusion reactor design) on a ship.”

Contents show

Why Does Starting at Sea Make More Sense?

Maritime Fusion believes that starting at sea will be easier than on land regarding commercializing the technology. Early fusion plants will not be cheap, and it will take time for costs to decrease. “It is very hard to compete with energy sources like solar and wind on the grid in terms of cost,” says Cohen.

However, economics work differently at sea. Ammonia and hydrogen, which are expected to replace diesel and bunker fuel in cargo ships, are still quite expensive. “These are some of the really expensive fuels that might be as expensive as first-of-a-kind fusion. In those cases, we can compete directly with them,” Cohen explains.

Maritime Fusion has completed a $4.5 million seed investment round to develop its concept and begin manufacturing parts for its first reactor. The company has started assembling high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables, which are the foundation of the powerful magnets used to confine the plasma required for fusion reactions.

2032 Goal and $1.1 Billion Project

The startup expects its first power plant, named Yinsen, to generate approximately 30 megawatts of electricity. The company notes that the biggest engineering challenges will be the design of the support systems that harvest energy and keep the tokamak running continuously. To simplify equipment on board, they state that some tasks, such as fuel processing, will be carried out on land.

Maritime’s first tokamak will be approximately eight meters wide. The company anticipates the plant will be operational in 2032 and will cost approximately $1.1 billion.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), considered the leader in the fusion race, is building a smaller tokamak called Sparc, approximately five meters wide. Tokamak reactor design resmi

Shutterstock

CFS has raised approximately $3 billion to date for this purpose and expects its demonstration facility to be operational next year. Sparc will not supply electricity to the grid and aims only to prove it can generate more power than it consumes. Cohen is confident that CFS’s head start will not be a hindrance: “We’re not going to spend billions of dollars on a non-energy producing, breakeven-style device. The first tokamak we build will be a tokamak that produces energy for a customer.”