Helion Energy
David Kirtley
Overview
Helion Energy is building fusion generators aimed at producing commercial electricity from fusion. Its Polaris prototype began operating in late 2024 and in February 2026 became the first privately developed fusion machine to demonstrate measurable deuterium-tritium fusion at 150 million degrees Celsius. Helion is now advancing Orion in Malaga, Washington, where site work began in 2025 for the company's first commercial machine intended to deliver electricity from fusion to Microsoft, while a smaller new 'Tiny Merge' testbed is being built to iterate on plasma formation faster. In March 2026, OpenAI also opened talks to buy fusion power from Helion at gigawatt scale, prompting Sam Altman to step down from the company's board chair to recuse himself from the negotiations.
Main Products
7th-generation fusion prototype designed to demonstrate electricity production from fusion using Helion's pulsed magneto-inertial architecture and direct electricity recapture.
Operating in Everett, WA, since late 2024. Achieved 150 million degrees C and first private D-T fusion in February 2026, and Helion is now working to ramp repetition rate from one pulse every ~10 minutes toward 1 Hz operation and demonstrate electricity production.
Smaller, agile FRC fusion testbed roughly one-eighth the size of Polaris (~8 feet long) used to iterate on plasma formation and ring-merging experiments far faster than the larger machines. Helion sees Tiny Merge as a key learning loop to de-risk Orion ahead of the 2028 Microsoft delivery deadline.
Helion says Tiny Merge is being built at its Everett campus and is targeted to come online by the end of summer 2026 so the team has roughly two years to feed its findings into final Orion designs.
First commercial fusion power plant, designed to generate 50+ MWe. Located in Malaga, Chelan County, Washington, on land leased from Chelan County PUD near Rock Island Dam. Power will be marketed by Constellation Energy to Microsoft data centers.
Site work began in July 2025, and by October 2025 Helion had cleared the approval pathway for all major structures including the fusion generator building. Helion remains focused on delivering power for Microsoft by 2028 with ramp-up thereafter.
What's Next
Operations & Revenue
Development stage — Orion site work is underway in Malaga, Washington, but Helion has not yet delivered commercial electricity. Polaris is operating in Everett and the company is now standing up the smaller Tiny Merge testbed to iterate faster on plasma formation. First revenue still depends on Orion supplying Microsoft on Helion's 2028 contractual deadline, with a much larger gigawatt-scale supply deal under negotiation with OpenAI for 2030 and beyond.
Pipeline & Contracts
Microsoft Power Purchase Agreement
World's first fusion PPA — 50+ MWe of electricity to be delivered via Constellation Energy to Microsoft data centers by 2028. The contract carries financial penalties on Helion if it misses the 2028 deadline.
Customer agreement to develop a 500 MWe fusion power plant at a Nucor steel manufacturing facility in the United States by 2030; the deal also included Nucor's investment in Helion.
OpenAI is in advanced negotiations to buy fusion electricity from Helion at gigawatt scale — reportedly 5 GW by 2030 and up to 50 GW by 2035, equivalent to ~12.5% of Helion's planned production. No site has been selected yet and the agreement is not finalised.
Key Metrics
Timeline
Reports surface that OpenAI is in advanced talks with Helion to buy 5 GW of fusion power by 2030, scaling to 50 GW by 2035 — roughly 12.5% of Helion's planned production. Sam Altman, who is Helion's largest individual investor, steps down as board chair and recuses himself from the negotiations to manage the conflict of interest.
Helion confirms it is building 'Tiny Merge', an ~8-foot, roughly one-eighth-scale FRC testbed designed to iterate on plasma formation and merging far faster than the full Polaris prototype, with the goal of de-risking Orion ahead of the 2028 Microsoft delivery commitment.