Truth Social and fusion energy: Trump company merges with TAE Technologies
Media company of the Trump family, which has so far been mainly known for Truth Social, now also enters fusion energy. Thanks to a merger with TAE Technologies.
(Image: Robert Way/Shutterstock.com)
The media company of US President Donald Trump is merging with the nuclear fusion company TAE Technologies “to cement the global energy dominance of the US for generations to come.” At least that's how the CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group describes it in the announcement of the at least unusual deal. TAE Technologies is working to make energy generation through nuclear fusion commercially viable by the end of the decade. Trump Media, on the other hand, is primarily known for the microblogging service Truth Social, on which Donald Trump is active. The merger of the completely different companies is valued at more than six billion US dollars (approximately 5.11 billion euros), according to the announcement. Shareholders of both companies are to hold 50 percent each in the new company.
Little is known about the background of the merger; according to those involved, Trump Media contributes “the strength of its solid balance sheets” and will pay TAE a total of 300 million US dollars in cash. The two company CEOs want to jointly lead the new company in the future. Work on the first fusion reactor for commercial use is scheduled to begin in 2026; it is intended to deliver 50 megawatts. Ten times larger plants are to follow. TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer does not say what Trump Media is supposed to contribute besides the cash injection. In his obligatory sentences about the deal, he does not address Trump's company at all and only talks about his successes. After his election to the White House, the US President placed his stake under the fiduciary control of his son, Donald Trump Jr.
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Fusion energy is not only intended to secure the global dominance of the US in energy matters, says Devin Nunes, the CEO of Trump Media. The planned power plants would also provide affordable and reliable large amounts of electricity that would help the United States “win the AI revolution.” He also does not say what exactly Trump Media can contribute, but he claims that with Truth Social, they have “built an indelible infrastructure to secure free speech for Americans on the internet.” According to the announcement, the company behind Truth Social has accumulated about 3.1 billion US dollars in assets since its IPO in March 2024.
Milestones without imminent readiness for deployment
Controlled nuclear fusion is considered a promising technology for future energy supply and a clean alternative to nuclear fission. Unlike nuclear fission, nuclear fusion does not produce long-lived radioactive waste. Although milestones are repeatedly reached in the research of this form of energy generation, imminent commercial readiness is considered unlikely. Forecasts from private-sector startups are significantly rosier than those of traditional large-scale projects funded by public money. The Federal Republic of Germany is financing research with two billion euros in the coming years.
(mho)
