Helion Secures Land and Begins Building on the Site of World’s First Fusion Power Plant –
In 2023, Helion announced the world’s first power purchase agreement (PPA) that will provide energy from the plant to Microsoft by 2028, with Constellation Energy serving as power marketer.
Helion Secures Land and Begins Building on the Site of World’s First Fusion Power Plant
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From the article
Helion, a Washington-based fusion energy company, today announced that it has begun work on the site of its first fusion power plant, Orion, marking a major step in bringing fusion electricity to the grid. Located in Chelan County, Washington, the site was chosen for its ready access to transmission and legacy of energy innovation.
In 2023, Helion [announced the world’s first power purchase agreement](https://www.helionenergy.com/articles/helion-announces-worlds-first-fusion-ppa-with-microsoft/) (PPA) that will provide energy from the plant to Microsoft by 2028, with Constellation Energy serving as power marketer. With site work now underway, Helion remains on track to meet that goal.
“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, Helion’s co-founder and CEO. “Since we founded the company, we have been completely focused on preparing fusion technology for commercialization and getting electrons on the grid. Starting site work brings us one step closer to that vision.”
“Fusion represents an inspiring frontier in the world’s pursuit of clean and abundant power,” said Melanie Nakagawa, CSO & CVP Energy, Connectivity, and Sustainability at Microsoft. “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.”
Helion began building in Malaga, Washington, on land it is leasing from the Chelan County Public Utilities District (PUD). This followed a Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) through Washington’s comprehensive environmental review process, SEPA. Since 2023, Helion has been actively engaging with local and state stakeholders – including government agencies, Tribal Nations, and the general public – in preparation for a siting and permitting decision. Helion will continue to work through the remaining steps in the permitting process to construct and operate a commercial fusion power plant on the site.
They claim to provide fusion power electricity in 3 years commercially? And Microsoft even believes them and pays? I have no words.
I know this is all PR, but Helion’s approach is my favourite so far, as it can capture power directly from the reaction (so no steam turbines are needed) and it can breed its own fuel IIRC (citation needed).
All that said, it remains to be seen if this approach will actually work at scale. I hope so, but its Fusion so who knows
Are they actually going to reach net positive production with this facility in 3 years or are they just planning on sending any power they do generate from their process to Microsoft instead of feeding it back into the system? (Presuming on the latter that they’ll still be feeding in more power than it generates)
This plant will only be 50MW.
China is going bigger:
“China plans to start construction of the world’s first fusion-fission power plant, with the aim of generating 100 MW of continuous electricity for the national grid by 2030. The facility will be built on Yaohu Science Island in the hi-tech zone of Nanchang, Jiangxi province, in central China.
The CNY20bn ($2.76bn) Xinghuo high-temperature superconducting reactor is a joint venture between China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) subsidiary China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Corporation and Lianovation Superconductor, a spin-off from Lianovation Optoelectronics.”
Damn, it’s that easy to scam even Microsoft this days.
I should learn from Helion.
I’ve followed Helion and quite a few others for a number of years. I loved Helion’s patient approach, scaling up one step at a time, with each iteration and build meant to tackle specific roadblocks. I expected them to get stuck with capacitor timing issues which I know a little bit about from the theoretical side.
But then they brought capacitor manufacturing in house. And now they are moving forward with a commercial plant for MS. Those ‘familiar with the art’ should expect this major roadblock to be hurdled. I’m now more than cautiously optimistic and a bit less realistically pessimistic than I have been in the past.
Between AI and fusion, the next several years should be great fun.