(Yicai) July 14 -- ENN Fusion Energy Technology, a subsidiary of Chinese urban gas supplier ENN Group, has seen its valuation top CNY10.6 billion (USD1.6 billion) after its first financing round.

The Series Pre-A fundraiser was led by Longxin Private Equity Venture Capital Fund Management, CAS Star, an incubator backed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and venture capital firm MPCi, Beijing-based ENN Fusion Energy announced yesterday. CDH Investments and Cathay Capital also participated.

The proceeds will be used for the construction and commissioning of the Helong-2, a third-generation spherical torus proton-boron fusion device, as well as for advancing core tech iterations and expanding ENN Fusion Energy's high-level talent team to speed the commercialization of spherical torus proton-boron fusion tech, the company noted, without disclosing the amount raised.

The Helong-2 aims to tackle key challenges related to energy gain and systemic technical engineering in proton-boron fusion, providing the technical and engineering foundation for the commercialization of such tech, according to ENN Fusion Energy's research and development timeline. The firm aims to complete its construction by the end of next year and to light the first lamp powered by proton-boron fusion by 2030.

Last December, ENN established ENN Fusion Energy to fully undertake its fusion R&D activities and accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy. The unit aims to achieve commercial demonstration operations of a proton-boron fusion reactor by 2035, targeting low-cost power generation.

To transition towards clean energy, ENN has been developing fusion tech since 2017, investing over CNY4 billion (USD590 million) to establish the Xuanlong-50 and the Xuanlong-50U generations of experimental devices. Its high-level R&D team has 300 members.

Set up in 1989, Langfang-based ENN provides energy to 32.8 million households and 316,000 corporate clients across 22 Chinese provinces. The company has four listed subsidiaries: ENN Energy Holdings, ENN Natural Gas, ENC Digital Technology, and Xizang Tourism.

Editor: Martin Kadiev