The news: Seattle-area startup Zap Energy is edging closer to the promise of fusion power. The company Wednesday announced two milestones: its newest prototype device has created plasma, a superheated gas needed to generate fusion, and it raised $160 million in new funding with support from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and two petroleum giants. Zap Energy, which has offices in Everett and Mukilteo, Wash., has raised a total of roughly $200 million since launching in 2017.