Google, Chevron invest in hydrogen fusion startup

US oil giant Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) are part of a $250 million funding raise for nuclear fusion start-up TAE Technologies. The companies disclosed the information on Tuesday.

Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation has also invested in the sixth generation of TAE’s fusion research reactor in California. TAE Technologies has now raised a total of $1.2 billion.

Google has partnered with TAE since 2014, providing the fusion startup with artificial intelligence and computational power, but this is Google’s first cash investment in TAE.

TAE, which employs about 400 people, was founded in 1998 and aims to have a commercial-scale fusion reactor delivering energy to the grid in the early 2030s. TAE hopes to generate electricity by fusing a hydrogen proton with boron.