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Helion is developing what it says is a cost-effective, zero-carbon electrical power plant using its patented pulsed, non-ignition fusion technology. The company says its fusion power plant will provide "flexible, scalable, baseload power that is affordable, providing the world a new path to full decarbonisation of electricity generation".
It earlier said that it expects Orion, its first power plant, to be online by 2028 and will target power generation of 50 MWe or greater after a one-year ramp-up period.
In May 2023, Microsoft signed an agreement with Helion for the provision of electricity from its first fusion power plant. Constellation Energy will serve as the power marketer and will manage transmission for the project.
Helion says its approach to fusion energy differs in three main ways from other approaches. Firstly, it uses a pulsed fusion system, which helps overcome the hardest physics challenges, keeps its fusion device smaller than other approaches, and allows it to adjust the power output based on need. Secondly, its system is built to directly recover electricity, while other fusion systems heat water to create steam to turn a turbine which loses a lot of energy in the process. Thirdly, it uses deuterium and helium-3 as fuel, which helps keep its system small and efficient.
"Our device directly recaptures electricity; it does not use heat to create steam to turn a turbine, nor does it require the immense energy input of cryogenic superconducting magnets," Helion says. "Our technical approach reduces efficiency loss, which is key to our ability to commercialise electricity from fusion at very low costs."
The company has previously built six working prototypes and in June 2021 became the first private fusion company to reach 100-million-degree plasma temperatures with its sixth fusion generator prototype, Trenta. Helion's seventh prototype, Polaris, in Everett, Washington, began initial operations in 2024.
Announcing the start of construction of Orion, Helion said: "After more than a decade designing and building record-breaking fusion machines, this is a significant moment for us as we prepare to bring fusion power to the world."
