Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

[baking]

also doing test runs

Also known as commissioning and integration.

[Carl White]

Our team is crushing it right now!! Incredible to have so many people working around the clock - especially on the weekends - to get things done. Some of the best work happens on Saturdays at the office!

https://x.com/dekirtley/status/1916357936286470485

[Skipjack]

New Helion blog post:
https://x.com/Helion_Energy/status/1917609908222230892

[Skipjack]

Chelan County PUD negotiates power, land agreement with nuclear fusion company Helion

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/loc ... f93c8.html

[Skipjack]

https://x.com/dekirtley/status/1920501948463149368

David Kirtley on X:

As we’re operating Polaris, we’re already seeing the largest-ever FRCs we (or we believe anyone else) have seen before!
This is important for two primary reasons:
1. Larger FRCs mean more electricity: Greater volume allows us to contain more particles for longer, increasing fusion reaction likelihood and boosting electricity output
2. Our results match simulations: These FRCs align closely with predictions from simulations informed by our previous six prototypes. This validates our computational tools and reinforces confidence that Polaris performs as designed.

Looks like their model is holding up so far. Good sign!

[Carl White]

From the David Kirtley tweet above:

Polaris_being_tested.jpg (53.45 KiB) Viewed 54 times

[Skipjack]

New Helion newsletter:
https://mailchi.mp/helionenergy/a-stron ... fb0f77adc2

It has been an exciting start to 2025: Polaris began initial testing and is progressing toward full operation, we announced an oversubscribed $425 M Series F fundraise, and we’re continuing to scale our manufacturing capabilities.

I continue to be impressed by the rigor and urgency I see from our team; everyone is here for our mission to bring fusion electricity to the world for the first time. Here’s a small glimpse into a lot of work the team has been putting in lately:

Polaris integration and commissioning

The team has continued bringing Polaris up to full power, installing additional power systems in between testing. So far, we’ve formed what we know as the largest FRC plasmas ever created. And more importantly, we see that our FRCs are scaling as we predicted based on calculations from our last prototype, Trenta. As the team drives toward full power operations, I’m feeling very excited about the fusion electricity these huge FRCs will enable.

Activating a fuel processing lab & receiving tritium for Polaris

We completed construction of Polaris’ fuel processing lab and received 20,000 Ci of tritium. The lab supports a wide range of fuel cycle operations – from material receipt and gas analysis (including chromatography and Raman spectrometry) to exhaust capture, processing, and scintillation counting. After commissioning, the team successfully received and stored more than 2 grams of tritium onsite, enabling D-T operations for Polaris.

We shared more about our fuel processing here: How to engineer a renewable deuterium-helium-3 fusion fuel cycle

Closing our $425M Series F fundraise

Earlier this year, we announced our oversubscribed and upsized $425 million fundraise to scale our manufacturing capacity. We’re proud to have had existing major investors participate in the round, alongside new investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and a major university endowment.

This funding is already accelerating progress in Everett, where we’re continuing to build out manufacturing that will enable deployment of our first fusion power plant – and the ones that follow.

Building out more fusion manufacturing

Antares has been operating multiple assembly lines and high voltage testing bays dedicated to pulsed power unit production. Each line is configured for a specific form factor, tailored to the electrical and spatial requirements of its corresponding subsystem within the machine. Completed units undergo high-voltage qualification testing to verify performance under fusion operating conditions before being shipped out for final integration. Once a specific variant is complete, the line is turned over and reconfigured for the next. We’re looking for a Senior Design Engineer and Capacitor Manufacturing Engineer to help us take this work to the next level.

Scaling these capabilities has been huge for us already and we are only just getting started!

Even after the start of initial operations in Polaris, we haven’t stopped building. Throughout Polaris’ lifetime, we’ll continue installing and upgrading components to maximize what we can learn from the system. There’s still a lot to do and a lot to learn!

Commercializing fusion power won’t happen without the right people. We’re hiring for 40+ roles across the company. If you’re ready to help build something world-changing, we’re hiring.