Helion Energy Aims for 2028 Commercial Fusion Power Plant, Securing Microsoft as Initial Customer

David Kirtley, CEO and co-founder of Helion Energy, recently detailed his company's ambitious goal to deliver the world's first commercial nuclear fusion power plant by 2028. This groundbreaking initiative, which includes a partnership to supply power to Microsoft data centers, was a central topic in a wide-ranging conversation with podcaster Lex Fridman. Fridman described the discussion as "super technical" and "fascinating... for both the near-term and the long-term future of human civilization.

Helion Energy, founded by Kirtley in 2013, is developing magneto-inertial fusion technology, which aims to produce clean electricity through aneutronic fusion. The company achieved a significant milestone in 2021 with its sixth prototype, Trenta, reaching 100 million degrees Celsius – the temperature generally considered necessary for commercial fusion. Its seventh-generation prototype, Polaris, is currently under development and is expected to demonstrate the first electricity produced from fusion.

During the discussion, Kirtley highlighted the inherent safety advantages of fusion over traditional nuclear fission, noting that fusion reactors "turn itself off" if something goes wrong, unlike fission's chain reactions. He emphasized that fusion utilizes abundant fuel, primarily deuterium from water, which is "everywhere," and produces no long-lived radioactive waste. This contrasts with fission, which relies on finite uranium and plutonium and generates radioactive byproducts.

The potential impact of commercial fusion extends beyond clean energy, addressing geopolitical concerns by eliminating reliance on centralized fuel sources. Kirtley also discussed the critical role fusion could play in meeting the escalating energy demands of advanced technologies, particularly large GPU clusters for artificial intelligence. He envisions a future where fusion power plants could directly supply data centers, fostering unprecedented technological growth.

The comprehensive conversation, covering topics from the physics of E=mc2 and the safety of nuclear power to extreme temperature management and the Kardashev scale, is available in full on Lex Fridman's podcast across various platforms including X, YouTube, and Spotify. Helion Energy, backed by over $1 billion in funding and a $5.4 billion valuation, continues to push the boundaries of fusion research with an aggressive development timeline.