US nuclear fusion startup SHINE Technologies, which has raised nearly $800m (€682m) to deliver cheap, abundant energy, is generating real revenue as it follows a dual strategy of advancing fusion energy while scaling near-term applications in medicine and industry.

The Wisconsin company is following a four-phase plan towards its ultimate goal of producing power from nuclear fusion.

The early steps in that plan include essentially selling neutrons from the fusion reaction to industrial imaging and materials testing companies and the production of medical radioisotopes.

SHINE’s founder and chief executive officer Greg Piefer wants his firm to scale up the way historic deep-tech companies like semiconductor makers have done.

​“You start small with a market where you can make money right away, and then you iterate over time – and through that virtuous cycle of providing value and reinvesting a portion of it to make the technology better, you continue to access bigger and bigger markets,” Piefer said.