US private fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems has applied to connect its first ARC fusion power plant to PJM Interconnection, the largest US competitive wholesale electricity market. The plant is expected to start up in the early 2030s.

An interconnection application is the formal process of requesting to "plug in" a new power plant to one of the USA's regional transmission organisations - it kicks off a series of deep engineering studies to ensure the grid can safely and reliably handle the influx of the new generating capacity and energy being provided and assess whether any network upgrades are required.

"By entering PJM's queue now, CFS will ensure that it will be able to connect to the grid upon completion of the power plant's construction," the company said.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) - a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spinout company - said the application is the first-ever request from a grid-scale fusion power plant developer to a major regional transmission organisation. "By entering PJM's queue now, CFS will ensure that it will be able to connect to the grid upon completion of the power plant's construction," the company said. "Submitting this interconnection request helps to derisk delivering power from the ARC plant since it is one of the long-lead actions necessary to connect a grid-scale power plant in the early 2030s."