Saturday, June 20, 2026
Helion wins world's first licenses for a fusion power plant
Helion Energy said on June 16 it has become the first company in the world to secure the regulatory licenses required to build and operate a fusion power plant, after the Washington State Department of Health issued it a Radioactive Materials License and a Radioactive Air Emissions License. The licenses cover Orion, Helion's roughly 50-MW fusion plant under construction in Malaga, Washington, and clear the company to proceed with its generator building now that assembly and office structures are complete. Fusion is regulated under a byproduct-material framework rather than as a fission reactor, and the milestone advances Helion's pledge to deliver fusion power to Microsoft by 2028.