As the single largest institutional investor in venture capital in Australia, Hostplus is proud to back companies that are changing our world for the better.
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. If we don’t rapidly scale up action to address this challenge, now and in the coming years, its impact could be irreversible.
That’s why our investments, made in our members' best financial interests, also support the development of renewable and sustainable forms of energy that will facilitate a transition to a low-carbon economy.
Fusion technology is an exciting field of physics and engineering that could produce the most efficient form of energy ever.
Unlike fission energy, which is the process used in the generation of energy from conventional nuclear reactors, fusion energy is a different nuclear-based process that has the potential to produce clean, carbon emission-free power, without the by-product of radioactive material.
Fusion energy is the same energy the sun generates. Arguably, fusion is the ultimate renewable energy, as it promises unlimited, clean energy that the world desperately needs.
Given its potential, we’ve invested in two different approaches to generating fusion energy.
The first of these approaches has been developed by Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a company that was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2018 and has grown significantly in a very short space of time.
CFS is developing a new generation of high-temperature superconducting magnets, to be used in smaller, more economical fusion reactors. Our investment will accelerate CFS’ path towards commercial fusion energy.
The second approach is being developed by First Light Fusion, a company focused on the “inertial confinement” approach to generating fusion energy. This approach involves firing very high velocity projectiles at specially shaped fuel pellets, called targets. The impact creates a shock wave that compresses and heats the fuel to the point that a fusion reaction occurs.
First Light Fusion originated from Oxford University in 2011. It aims to develop commercially viable and sustainable forms of power generation using this technology.
Hostplus has invested over $3 billion to venture capital investments, including in companies like Commonwealth Fusion Systems and First Light Fusion.
If you’re in our MySuper Balanced option, or any of our pre-mixed investment options (except Indexed Balanced), your money is invested in companies that are at the forefront of developing the technology and solutions we will need to transition to a low-carbon economy.
What’s more, companies that are developing sustainable solutions are delivering competitive returns over the long term, which means we can deliver the best retirement outcomes for our members.
Find out more about our response to the challenges posed by climate change.
