Sometimes a tool like a hammer comes along, and everything starts looking like a nail. But other times, new tools turn out to be more than just blunt-force objects. The investors at SOSV believe plasma will become a versatile technology capable of enabling fusion power and transforming semiconductor manufacturing. They see so much potential that they plan to invest in more than 25 plasma-related startups over the next five years.
To support this vision, SOSV is opening a new Haxlab space in partnership with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
Nuclear fusion is an obvious area for plasma startups. This potential power source works by compressing fuel until it turns into dense plasma, causing atoms to fuse and release energy. “There’s so much here. The best ideas have yet to come to unlock a lot of potential in the fusion space,” said Duncan Turner, general partner at SOSV.
But fusion is just the beginning. SOSV has already invested in companies like YPlasma, which uses plasma actuators to cool data center chips and control airflow over wind turbine blades. Plasma could also revolutionize semiconductor manufacturing by unlocking new materials and processes.
Beyond that, plasma thrusters could make spacecraft more fuel-efficient, and plasma-based methods might create new ways to produce chemicals like ammonia for fertilizer or fuel from CO2.
“All of that combined, we were like, ‘Oh wow, there’s way more than 25 companies here,’” Turner said. “There’s actually hundreds of companies here.”
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