General Fusion began trading on the Nasdaq today under the symbol GFUZ, becoming the first publicly traded fusion energy company, surpassing its Trump-backed competitor TAE Technologies by several months.

And investors seemed to want in. Shares rose when trading began on Monday and are now up 40% from $12.85 as of 12:50 p.m. ET.

General Fusion announced in January that it would merge with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III and the transaction was completed last week.

Without rebates, the fusion energy company could have added up to $230 million to its balance sheet. But most SPAC takedown deals experience a wave of redemptions before the merger is complete. This is no exception, and although the company has not yet revealed the exact amount, a Globe and Mail report estimates that General Fusion could receive less than $30 million after refunds and fees.

In addition to the de-SPAC, General Fusion also raised $108 million from private investors. In total, the company says it has about $150 million in cash.

Before the reverse merger was announced, General Fusion was running out of cash and struggling to raise more. The company had reportedly been trying to raise $125 million. But by May 2025, it had not materialized and General Fusion laid off at least 25% of its employees. Three months later, the company convinced existing investors to put up another $22 million in what was supposedly a “pay-to-play” round.

That round gave General Fusion some breathing room. But fusion energy is an expensive business, and the company soon sought more financing, culminating in the reverse merger announced in January.

Founded in 2002, General Fusion is one of the oldest fusion energy companies in existence. Over the years, it has raised more than $600 million from private investors.

The company’s approach to fusion energy, known as magnetized target fusion, uses electromagnetic fields to create magnetized plasma, a soup of superheated particles, inside a chamber lined with liquid lithium. Once the plasma forms, it will use piston rings to compress the liquid lithium around the fusion fuel until the atoms inside fuse and release energy.

Previously, the company said it would use steam to drive the pistons, although today it doesn’t specify this, simply saying that “synchronized mechanical controllers” will force the lithium layer inward around the plasma.

The company hoped to use its LM26 device to reach a milestone known as the break-even point, where a fusion reaction releases more energy than is needed to power it, sometime this year. However, its funding problems have pushed the timeline back, likely to 2028 or later. General Fusion says it aims to power up its first power plant “by approximately 2035.”