Energy climate

Maritime Fusion

Website

Maritime Fusion is building fusion reactors for ships and off grid energy markets. En route on this endeavor we’re commercializing High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cable technology for power distribution while advancing the physics basis of our HTS tokamak to decarbonize global shipping. Breakeven fusion is coming soon, but the first-of-a

Founded 2024Origin source ↗Checked 2026-09-15

Overview

Maritime Fusion is building fusion reactors for ships and off grid energy markets. En route on this endeavor we’re commercializing High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cable technology for power distribution while advancing the physics basis of our HTS tokamak to decarbonize global shipping.

Breakeven fusion is coming soon, but the first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors will be costly, high maintenance, and have low capacity factors, leading to 5–10x higher electricity cost on the grid. Maritime Fusion is pursuing the most widely accepted approach to fusion, the tokamak, but specifically designed for the marine environment where the challenges that arise between breakeven and a commercially viable energy source are alleviated. The market we're targeting requires 15x less power, lower up-time, and costs the same as alternative fuels but without any emissions. Since fusion does not use highly radioactive fuels or materials – unlike fission – we sidestep the vast majority of regulatory challenges and safety risks associated with nuclear energy. Our team brings over a decade of industry and research experience in plasma physics, nuclear engineering, and electrical engineering with backgrounds at SpaceX, Tesla, Columbia University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Company description As recorded 2026-11-08

Founders & team

Justin Cohen

Founder/CEO

Nuclear engineer and plasma physicist working on fusion reactors for defense and commercial shipping applications. Previously Tesla, SpaceX, Columbia University, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, NC State.

Founder profile As recorded 2026-09-15

Jason Kaufmann

Founder/CTO

I'm a hardware engineer with a passion for building cool electronics and systems. With a background in physics and computer engineering from Penn, I've worked on everything from AI hardware at Tesla to power systems for rockets at SpaceX. Currently focused on making a fusion reactor for ships.

Founder profile As recorded 2026-09-15
6team members reported
Source-reported As recorded 2026-09-15

Founded 2024 · Source

News & product activity

Sources & observations

Hacker News · Y Combinator

Profile depthenriched profile
Website observationwebsite reachable
Last website check2026-11-11
Location · source statedSan Francisco, CA, USA
Pricing evidenceNo pricing page confirmed
Maturity: Not assessed · 3 of 6 areas documented

Source-based assessment · automated evidence rules

The retained text does not establish product availability or customer use.

Maturity is an evidence-based assessment, not a success rating. It may understate the current stage where evidence is limited. Coverage records documented areas, not a complete or independently audited company history.

Stage definitions
independent websitesource corroborationreachable websitedescriptive evidenceclassified market and modelsourced peoplesourced founding yeardated product or funding activity