£22.7m fundraising for fusion technology firm

A PORTFOLIO company of IP Group has raised £22.7m to fund further developments and collaborations.

First Light Fusion is a University of Oxford spin-out, which rebranded from Oxyntix last year, that has been backed by IP Group since 2011.

IP Group is led by Alan Aubrey, the founder of Leeds-based Techtran Group which was the first company in Europe to offer a complete outsourced technology transfer function to universities and signed its first agreement with the University of Leeds in 2002. It has been part of IP Group since 2005.

First Light’s is developing technology which can dramatically shorten the timescale and cost of achieving practical and affordable fusion energy. It has discovered implosion processes that can achieve the high temperatures and compression necessary for fusion reactions and other valuable applications.

The financing round is scheduled to take place in two tranches. IP Group has committed £5.8m of the £14.0m in the first tranche and has been joined by other organisations, including a fund managed by Invesco Asset Management Limited, clients advised or managed by Sandaire Investment Office and the University of Oxford.

Robert Trezona, IP Group’s head of cleantech, said: “First Light is making excellent progress in developing its technology towards eventual commercial application. The participation of such high-quality investors alongside IP Group in this fundraising is a testament to the achievements of the First Light team so far.”