Latest news with #HelionEnergy
Geek Wire
30-07-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
Helion breaks ground on what could be the world's first fusion plant despite significant uncertainty
Sustainability: News about the rapidly growing climate tech sector and other areas of innovation to protect our planet. SEE MORE Helion Energy officially breaks ground on its planned 50 megawatt fusion reactor in Malaga, Wash., on July 30, 2025. (Helion Photo) Helion Energy announced today that it has broken ground on what it hopes will be the world's first commercial fusion energy plant, designed to harness the same nuclear reactions that fuel the sun and stars. The facility will be located in Central Washington near the Columbia River and the town of Malaga. 'Today is an important day — not just for Helion, but for the entire fusion industry — as we unleash a new era of energy independence and industrial renewal,' said David Kirtley, co-founder and CEO of Helion, in a statement. 'Since we founded the company, we have been completely focused on preparing fusion technology for commercialization and getting electrons on the grid,' he added. 'Starting site work brings us one step closer to that vision.' Helion seeks to unlock nearly limitless energy by fusing atomic nuclei together and capturing the energy they release. For decades, researchers and companies have pursued this goal, but none have achieved the crucial milestone of producing more energy than their fusion reactions consume. The potential payoff, however, is so irresistible that dozens of ventures worldwide are working toward the goal, funded by billions of dollars from private investments and government coffers. In the past 12 months alone, investors pumped $2.5 billion into fusion companies globally, according to a July report from the Fusion Industry Association. Two years ago, Helion and Microsoft signed a historic deal in which the cloud company agreed to buy power from the fusion company's first facility, which is scheduled to start operating in 2028. The timeline is wildly ambitious. Foundation work being down at the Helion Energy reactor site in Central Washington. (Helion Photo) Helion is building a 50 megawatt reactor that, if it works, would power Microsoft data centers in the region. The entire tech sector is scrambling for new clean energy sources to power the computers that support artificial intelligence. 'Fusion represents an inspiring frontier in the world's pursuit of clean and abundant power,' said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft's chief sustainability officer. 'While the path to commercial fusion is still unfolding, we're proud to support Helion's pioneering work here in Washington state as part of our broader commitment to investing in sustainable energy.' For the Malaga facility, Helion is leasing land from the Chelan County Public Utilities District (PUD). The company said it's working on additional permitting processes to construct and operate a commercial fusion power plant. Helion, which is based just north of Seattle in Everett, Wash., has spent 12 years on R&D and building prototypes in preparation for this deployment. It has raised more than $1 billion from investors including Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO and co-founder, as well as SoftBank, Lightspeed Venture Partners, a university endowment and others. The company is in the No. 2 spot on the GeekWire 200, a ranking of Pacific Northwest startups. Keep scrolling for more photos. Construction on the Helion power plant. (Helion Photo) Earth moving at the planned Helion power plant. (Helion Photo) Helion hopes to operate its first commercial reactor in Central Washington. (Helion Photo)
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Helion Energy starts construction on nuclear fusion plant to power Microsoft data centers
By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Helion Energy, a startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's venture capital arm, has started construction on a site for a planned nuclear fusion power plant that will supply power to Microsoft data centers by 2028, the company said on Wednesday. The site in Malaga, Washington, is in the center of the state along the Columbia River, where Helion hopes to take advantage of grid infrastructure in place for the nearby Rock Island Dam hydroelectric plant. The startup still has to secure final permits from Washington's government but said the work puts it on track to sell power to Microsoft under a deal it struck in 2023. Fusion generates electricity by ramming atoms into each other, releasing energy without emitting significant greenhouse gases or creating large amounts of long-lasting radioactive waste. But despite billions of dollars of investment, scientists and engineers still have not figured out a way to reliably generate more energy with fusion than it takes to create and sustain the reaction. Helion is still working on how to do that with its current prototype, called Polaris, which is housed in Everett, Washington, where it plans to build components for the machine to be built at Malaga, called Orion. Orion will connect to Washington's primary power delivery networks, David Kirtley, Helion's co-founder and CEO, told Reuters. "We'll actually be able to connect to the exact same grid just upstream of the Microsoft data centers," Kirtley said. Microsoft has for years said that nuclear energy should be part of a mix of carbon-free energy sources and has also signed power purchase agreements for conventional fission-based nuclear power. Fusion is a longer-term bet, said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft's chief sustainability officer. "Over the last three, four years, you've been seeing from across the fusion space different types of milestones being met by other companies and peers, Helion included," Nakagawa told Reuters. "There's a lot of optimism that this could be the moment that fusion actually comes forward within this decade, or near in this decade." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Helion Energy starts construction on nuclear fusion plant to power Microsoft data centers
By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Helion Energy, a startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's venture capital arm, has started construction on a site for a planned nuclear fusion power plant that will supply power to Microsoft data centers by 2028, the company said on Wednesday. The site in Malaga, Washington, is in the center of the state along the Columbia River, where Helion hopes to take advantage of grid infrastructure in place for the nearby Rock Island Dam hydroelectric plant. The startup still has to secure final permits from Washington's government but said the work puts it on track to sell power to Microsoft under a deal it struck in 2023. Fusion generates electricity by ramming atoms into each other, releasing energy without emitting significant greenhouse gases or creating large amounts of long-lasting radioactive waste. But despite billions of dollars of investment, scientists and engineers still have not figured out a way to reliably generate more energy with fusion than it takes to create and sustain the reaction. Helion is still working on how to do that with its current prototype, called Polaris, which is housed in Everett, Washington, where it plans to build components for the machine to be built at Malaga, called Orion. Orion will connect to Washington's primary power delivery networks, David Kirtley, Helion's co-founder and CEO, told Reuters. "We'll actually be able to connect to the exact same grid just upstream of the Microsoft data centers," Kirtley said. Microsoft has for years said that nuclear energy should be part of a mix of carbon-free energy sources and has also signed power purchase agreements for conventional fission-based nuclear power. Fusion is a longer-term bet, said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft's chief sustainability officer. "Over the last three, four years, you've been seeing from across the fusion space different types of milestones being met by other companies and peers, Helion included," Nakagawa told Reuters. "There's a lot of optimism that this could be the moment that fusion actually comes forward within this decade, or near in this decade."
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Helion Energy starts construction on nuclear fusion plant to power Microsoft data centers
By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Helion Energy, a startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's venture capital arm, has started construction on a site for a planned nuclear fusion power plant that will supply power to Microsoft data centers by 2028, the company said on Wednesday. The site in Malaga, Washington, is in the center of the state along the Columbia River, where Helion hopes to take advantage of grid infrastructure in place for the nearby Rock Island Dam hydroelectric plant. The startup still has to secure final permits from Washington's government but said the work puts it on track to sell power to Microsoft under a deal it struck in 2023. Fusion generates electricity by ramming atoms into each other, releasing energy without emitting significant greenhouse gases or creating large amounts of long-lasting radioactive waste. But despite billions of dollars of investment, scientists and engineers still have not figured out a way to reliably generate more energy with fusion than it takes to create and sustain the reaction. Helion is still working on how to do that with its current prototype, called Polaris, which is housed in Everett, Washington, where it plans to build components for the machine to be built at Malaga, called Orion. Orion will connect to Washington's primary power delivery networks, David Kirtley, Helion's co-founder and CEO, told Reuters. "We'll actually be able to connect to the exact same grid just upstream of the Microsoft data centers," Kirtley said. Microsoft has for years said that nuclear energy should be part of a mix of carbon-free energy sources and has also signed power purchase agreements for conventional fission-based nuclear power. Fusion is a longer-term bet, said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft's chief sustainability officer. "Over the last three, four years, you've been seeing from across the fusion space different types of milestones being met by other companies and peers, Helion included," Nakagawa told Reuters. "There's a lot of optimism that this could be the moment that fusion actually comes forward within this decade, or near in this decade." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
30-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Helion Energy starts construction on nuclear fusion plant to power Microsoft data centers
SAN FRANCISCO, July 30 (Reuters) - Helion Energy, a startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's venture capital arm, has started construction on a site for a planned nuclear fusion power plant that will supply power to Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab data centers by 2028, the company said on Wednesday. The site in Malaga, Washington, is in the center of the state along the Columbia River, where Helion hopes to take advantage of grid infrastructure in place for the nearby Rock Island Dam hydroelectric plant. The startup still has to secure final permits from Washington's government but said the work puts it on track to sell power to Microsoft under a deal it struck in 2023. Fusion generates electricity by ramming atoms into each other, releasing energy without emitting significant greenhouse gases or creating large amounts of long-lasting radioactive waste. But despite billions of dollars of investment, scientists and engineers still have not figured out a way to reliably generate more energy with fusion than it takes to create and sustain the reaction. Helion is still working on how to do that with its current prototype, called Polaris, which is housed in Everett, Washington, where it plans to build components for the machine to be built at Malaga, called Orion. Orion will connect to Washington's primary power delivery networks, David Kirtley, Helion's co-founder and CEO, told Reuters. "We'll actually be able to connect to the exact same grid just upstream of the Microsoft data centers," Kirtley said. Microsoft has for years said that nuclear energy should be part of a mix of carbon-free energy sources and has also signed power purchase agreements for conventional fission-based nuclear power. Fusion is a longer-term bet, said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft's chief sustainability officer. "Over the last three, four years, you've been seeing from across the fusion space different types of milestones being met by other companies and peers, Helion included," Nakagawa told Reuters. "There's a lot of optimism that this could be the moment that fusion actually comes forward within this decade, or near in this decade."
