Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the world’s largest fusion energy company, is the first international company to join the UK national fusion laboratory’s flagship programme to test new tritium blanket technologies.CFS to gain early access to world-leading infrastructure for blanket testing, which includes a customised large-scale neutron source.The agreement builds on momentum from the King’s Address to the U.S. Congress in April.

OXFORD, United Kingdom, July 1, 2026 /CNW/ — The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) today announced that Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the largest fusion energy company, will be the first international company to participate in UKAEA’s flagship Lithium Breeding Tritium Innovation programme (LIBRTI).

LIBRTI is a £220 million UK government initiative that aims to demonstrate net tritium production – a vital capability for commercializing fusion energy that means fusion power plants can produce enough of this fuel component to cover their own use.

The programme is creating a first-of-a-kind technology facility at UKAEA’s Culham Campus following the recent acquisition of a high-flux neutron source.

In a fusion power plant, a blanket is the region where neutrons from the fusion process strike lithium atoms that then turn into tritium, a form of hydrogen used as fusion fuel. The production technique is called breeding, and the new LIBRTI facility will enable industry partners to develop and verify their blanket technologies in fusion environments representative of full-scale machines.

CFS is a private company based in Devens, Massachusetts, that spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2018. The company has raised more than US$3 billion in private capital, making it the best-funded fusion energy company globally. CFS is currently building its SPARC fusion demonstration machine and expects to generate electricity from its first ARC fusion power plant in Virginia in the United States in the early 2030s.

CFS and UKAEA will work together, designing the experimental setup, developing testing protocols, and conducting experiments at the LIBRTI facility. CFS will build the test articles to be used in the first investigations.

Tim Bestwick, CEO, UKAEA, said:

“The UK Fusion Strategy emphasises the UK’s position as a leader in fusion research while recognising the value of continued global collaboration.”

Amanda Quadling, Senior Responsible Officer, LIBRTI, said:

“Welcoming CFS is a defining moment for LIBRTI. Their participation adds momentum to our own efforts and accelerates the global pathway to demonstrated fusion powerplant scale technology.”

Brandon Sorbom, Co-founder and Chief Science Officer, CFS, said:

“LIBRTI’s specialized testing capabilities will allow us to demonstrate net tritium production and increase confidence in our ARC blanket system design. Through this collaboration, CFS will gain hands-on experience engineering and building blanket systems directly representative of our commercial fusion power plant. We’re thrilled to partner with UKAEA and the LIBRTI team as an early user.”

Heena Mutha, Director of Fuel Cycle and Blanket Technology, CFS, said:

“It’s an incredible moment for the fusion industry that we’re building the capability to investigate the performance of blankets in a fusion-relevant environment. We look forward to this collaboration with the UKAEA and LIBRTI.”

For more information, please contact:

Mike Bridge, Media & Communications Manager, via email: mediaenquiry@ukaea.ukChristine Dunn, Head of External Communications at CFS, via email: press@cfs.energy

About the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority 

Who we are 

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is the UK’s national fusion energy research organisation. We are an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). 

The work we do 

UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy to maximise scientific and UK economic benefit. We do this by being technical experts, partnering with companies and the international research community. 

At the core of UKAEA’s efforts is the operation of world-leading facilities that build a comprehensive knowledge base for fusion energy. By addressing and solving the challenges across the full lifecycle of fusion, and integrating solutions from various disciplines, we establish technical centres of excellence that serve as the foundation for future fusion power plant programmes. 

UKAEA collaborates with its partners to develop fusion power plants by providing access to our skills, facilities and expertise. UKAEA owns UK Fusion Energy (UKFE) on behalf of the UK government. Through UKFE, we’re spearheading the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme to design and build the UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant in Nottinghamshire. 

To grow the fusion ecosystem, UKAEA focuses on cultivating skilled talent, growing the fusion industry and creating ‘innovation clusters’. We actively seek opportunities to advance fusion technologies and communicate its vast potential to stakeholders and the public alike to accelerate fusion energy’s future – the energy of tomorrow we need today. 

More information: https://www.gov.uk/ukaea. Social Media: @UKAEAofficial  

About fusion energy 

When a mix of two forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) is heated to form a controlled plasma at extreme temperatures – 10 times hotter than the core of the Sun – they fuse together to create helium and release energy which can be harnessed to produce electricity. There is more than one way of achieving this. UKAEA’s approach is to hold this hot plasma using strong magnets in a ring-shaped machine called a ‘tokamak’, and then to harness this heat to produce electricity in a similar way to existing power stations.  

About Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is the world’s largest and leading private fusion company. The company’s marquee fusion project, SPARC, will generate net energy, paving the way for limitless carbon-free energy. The company has raised more than $3 billion in capital since it was founded in 2018.

SPARC® and ARC™ are trademarks of Commonwealth Fusion Systems®.

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SOURCE Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Company reports more than 10,000 orders and launches an initiative to donate 100 humanoid robots in support of mental well-being programs

SHENZHEN, China, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 30, 2026, UBTECH hosted its 2026 Global Launch Event in Shenzhen, where it introduced its long-term vision for human–robot symbiosis and officially unveiled the UWORLD U1 Series of full-size ultra-bionic humanoid robots, the first in the world designed for mass production. The lineup includes three models: the U1 Lite semi-torso edition, the high-performance full-body U1 Pro, and the high-dynamic full-body U1 Ultra, with pricing set from 119,800 RMB. As of the day of the launch event, cumulative orders for the UWORLD U1 Series had surpassed 13,361 units.

James Zhou, Founder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO of UBTECH, outlined the company’s long-term vision for the evolution of human–robot collaboration. He described a three-stage progression: first, completing hazardous and repetitive work to free people from dangerous tasks; second, extending into everyday life through companionship and service applications; and ultimately, advancing toward increasingly seamless interaction between humans and intelligent robots.

Zhou said UBTECH is evolving beyond a traditional robotics manufacturer toward a platform company focused on AI-enabled robotics and intelligent infrastructure. He noted that the company has pursued a two-decade roadmap for growth. During the first phase (2012–2022), UBTECH focused on developing core technologies, helping bring humanoid robots from research laboratories into industrial deployment while building the company’s commercial foundation. During the second phase (2023–2033), the company is expanding into consumer robotics with the goal of making humanoid robots part of everyday life. The year 2026 marks an important step in the evolution of UBTECH from industrial and commercial applications toward consumer adoption.

Backed by its self-developed full-stack humanoid robot technologies, broad application portfolio, and continued investment in innovation and talent, UBTECH has achieved multiple industry milestones. Building on its industrial robotics business, the company ranked 1st globally in revenue and sales volume from full-sized embodied intelligent humanoid robots in 2025, and launches UWORLD in 2026, extending its robotics portfolio into the consumer market.

Michael Tam, Chief Brand Officer of UBTECH, President of Consumer Robotics Innovation Business Group, and General Manager of UWORLD, said human-robot companionship represents a new approach to supporting mental well-being. He added that companion robots have the potential to become an important new consumer category by providing personalized emotional support throughout different stages of life. He cited projections that China’s ultra-bionic humanoid robotics market could grow from the tens of billions of RMB to the trillion-RMB level between 2026 and 2036.

UWORLD integrates a fully proprietary end-to-end technology stack, including biomimetic skin, embodied intelligence hardware, operating systems, emotion-driven large language models (LLMs), and system-level manufacturing. This integrated architecture is designed to address long-standing challenges in the real-world deployment of humanoid robots.

The UWORLD U1 Series features 88 degrees of freedom and a proprietary dual-pivot biomimetic cervical spine, enabling it to replicate up to 90% of fundamental human movements. The system is powered by the world’s first emotion-aware LLM designed for long-term companionship, capable of recognizing more than 20 fine-grained emotional states with an accuracy rate exceeding 90%.

Its biomimetic fast-and-slow brain architecture draws on cognitive neuroscience principles, enabling a 500-millisecond intuitive response system alongside deep reasoning capabilities powered by models with hundreds of billions of parameters. A biomimetic expression actuation system, driven by a proprietary controller, reduces speech-to-lip synchronization latency to within 20 milliseconds, creating a remarkably lifelike interaction experience.

The Agent Memory OS, a cross-temporal memory system, is designed to establish a persistent digital life framework. A proactive care engine uses environmental awareness to enable wake-word-free interaction, allowing UWORLD robots to respond naturally to contextual cues and social situations.

UWORLD also emphasizes the principle that users retain ownership of their data and has established a three-layer privacy architecture consisting of local-first processing, minimal cloud dependency, and user-controlled hardware safeguards. Combined with highly lifelike interaction capabilities and an end-to-end safety framework, the system enables humanoid robots to evolve from functional tools into emotionally responsive companions.

The U1 Series is designed to support a wide range of consumer and commercial applications, including daily companionship, emotional support, lifestyle enhancement, and social assistance, as well as reception and hospitality services, elder care, psychological support, tourism and exhibitions, research and education, and premium domestic service applications.

At the launch event, UWORLD introduced the “Human-Robot Companionship Initiative.” China has more than 90 million adults living alone and 118 million empty-nest seniors, with an estimated 10% to 20% of individuals living alone meeting the clinical criteria for mental health disorders. In response, UWORLD announced plans to donate customized humanoid robots each year to support vulnerable groups, including children growing up apart from one or both parents, older adults living alone, and families facing difficult circumstances, with the goal of providing long-term emotional companionship and psychological support.

In 2026, UWORLD plans to donate 100 customized U1 Series humanoid robots. These units will incorporate 3D facial reconstruction and voiceprint-based identity replication technologies to recreate designated individuals, while integrating emotion-driven interaction models and dedicated long-term memory systems. Combined with multimodal situational awareness, the robots are designed to provide structured psychological support services.

With the launch of UWORLD, UBTECH has established a robotics portfolio spanning industrial, commercial and consumer applications. The industrial Walker S Series has already entered mass production and commenced deliveries, while UWORLD is expected to become the company’s second growth engine as it brings humanoid robotics to consumer markets.

About UBTECH

Established in March 2012, UBTECH ROBOTICS CORP LTD is a leading humanoid robot and smart service robot company. Specialized in the research, development, and commercialization of intelligent service robots and AI-driven solutions, its product portfolio spans industrial humanoid robots (Walker series), AI Education, Smart Logistics, Commercial Service, and Consumer Service. Milestones include mass production of the Walker S2 humanoid robot and listing on the HKEX. UBTECH is committed to advancing embodied AI to build a smarter, more connected future.

For more information, please visit https://www.ubtrobot.com/en/

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SOURCE UBTECH

HONG KONG, July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Valuable Capital Group Limited (“VCGL”), a global financial services group, announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Tickrs Clearing LLC, has successfully obtained membership with NYSE Arca, one of the leading electronic securities exchanges operated by NYSE.

The milestone represents a significant step in VCGL’s continued expansion of its global capital markets infrastructure and reinforces the Group’s commitment to developing secure, efficient, and technology-driven access to international financial markets.

Tickrs Clearing LLC is a U.S.-based clearing firm and FINRA member, providing clearing and related market infrastructure capabilities within the U.S. securities ecosystem. Through its NYSE Arca membership, Tickrs Clearing LLC strengthens its connectivity to the U.S. securities market ecosystem and further enhances VCGL’s capabilities in supporting global investment access.

NYSE Arca is a leading fully electronic exchange platform operated by NYSE, offering advanced trading infrastructure across equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Membership enables eligible market participants to directly participate within the exchange environment and contributes to a more efficient and connected financial marketplace.

Commenting on the milestone, Jess Cheung, the co-founder and CEO of Valuable Capital Group Limited said,
“NYSE Arca membership represents a meaningful step in the continued development of Valuable Capital Group’s global market infrastructure. As the Group expands its international footprint, this milestone reinforces its commitment to delivering seamless market access, operational excellence, and innovative investment solutions to clients worldwide.”

The development builds upon VCGL’s broader international growth strategy, following continued expansion across key financial jurisdictions. Through its regulated entities and technology-driven platforms, VCGL continues to invest in building a global ecosystem that bridges investors, markets, and financial opportunities.

With Tickrs Clearing US’s NYSE Arca membership, VCGL further reinforces its commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and the development of world-class financial infrastructure.

About Valuable Capital Group Limited
Valuable Capital Group Limited (VCGL) is a comprehensive financial services company that provides integrated, cross-market, and multi-asset global investment services to individuals and corporations. VCGL has set up licensed entities in Hong Kong SAR, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and UAE gaining worldwide recognition from millions of users.

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SOURCE Valuable Capital Group Ltd.