Helion Reaches 150 Million Degrees Celsius in Fusion Reactor, Advances Towards Commercial Power
Everett, Washington – Helion, a fusion energy startup, has announced a significant achievement in its quest for commercial fusion power. Plasmas within the company's Polaris prototype reactor have successfully reached 150 million degrees Celsius, marking a crucial step forward. This temperature represents three-quarters of what Helion estimates is necessary for a commercial fusion power plant.
"Plasmas within the company's Polaris prototype reactor have reached 150 million degrees Celsius, which is three-quarters of the temperature Helion estimates is necessary for a commercial fusion power plant."
David Kirtley, Helion's co-founder and CEO, confirmed this milestone. The Polaris reactor operates with deuterium-tritium fuel, a combination of two hydrogen isotopes. This makes Helion the first fusion company to utilize this specific fuel type in operation. The company observed a notable increase in fusion power output, manifesting as heat.
Commercialization and Investment Landscape
The clean energy sector views fusion power as a potentially transformative source, leading to substantial investment. Helion itself has raised $425 million from prominent investors, including Sam Altman, Mithril, Lightspeed, and SoftBank.
Other fusion startups are also attracting significant capital:
- Inertia Enterprises secured $450 million in its Series A round.
- Type One Energy raised $250 million.
- Commonwealth Fusion Systems boasts $863 million in funding.
Helion has already secured a contract with Microsoft, agreeing to provide electricity starting in 2028. This power is slated to come from Orion, a larger commercial reactor that the company is currently constructing, distinct from the Polaris prototype.
Reactor Design and Energy Generation
Helion's reactor design employs a sophisticated field-reversed configuration. In this system, fuel is injected into an hourglass-shaped chamber, where it converts into plasmas at the wider ends. Magnets then rapidly accelerate these plasmas towards each other.
Upon merging, the plasmas initially reach temperatures of approximately 10 million to 20 million degrees Celsius. Subsequent compression by powerful magnets further elevates the temperature to 150 million degrees Celsius, all within a rapid timeframe of under a millisecond.
Unlike many competitors, Helion aims to generate electricity directly from fusion reactions rather than extracting energy as heat.
The reaction's magnetic field interacts with the reactor's magnets, inducing an electrical current that can be harvested. This innovative method is intended to offer greater efficiency compared to traditional heat-exchange approaches.
Future Fuel and Goals
While currently utilizing deuterium-tritium fuel, Helion plans to transition to deuterium-helium-3. This future fuel choice is strategic, as deuterium-helium-3 produces more charged particles, making it particularly suitable for Helion's direct electricity recovery approach.
The company's ultimate objective is to achieve plasmas that reach 200 million degrees Celsius, which it considers the optimal operating temperature for a commercial power plant. When questioned about scientific breakeven—the point where a fusion reaction generates more energy than it consumes to initiate—Kirtley stated that the company's primary focus is on electricity production rather than purely scientific milestones.
Helium-3 is not naturally abundant on Earth. To overcome this, Helion plans to produce its own supply. Initially, this involves fusing deuterium nuclei to create the first batches. In regular operation, while deuterium-helium-3 fusion will be the primary power source, some deuterium-on-deuterium reactions will also occur, yielding additional helium-3 for purification and reuse. Helion reports high efficiencies in producing helium-3 in terms of both throughput and purity.
Kirtley suggested that other companies might adopt helium-3 fuel in the future if they also pursue direct electricity recovery for its efficiency benefits, hinting at potential future sales of the fuel from Helion.