Helion Breaks Ground on World’s First Commercial Fusion Plant
Helion Energy began construction on what could become the world’s first commercial fusion plant on July 30, marking a bold step toward delivering clean electricity by 2028. The Everett-based startup started site work at its Malaga facility in Chelan County, Washington, where it aims to prove fusion power can move from research labs into commercial use.
The company has initiated earthwork and construction at the site of Orion, its planned 50-megawatt fusion plant. This facility, to be built on land leased from the Chelan County Public Utilities District, is strategically located near the Rock Island Dam, offering easy access to transmission infrastructure. This positioning is key to supplying electricity directly to Microsoft data centers in the region. Learn more about the location.
Fusion Plant Backed by Microsoft Partnership
This progress follows a historic 2023 power purchase agreement with Microsoft — the first of its kind for fusion energy. Under the deal, Helion will provide at least 50MW of carbon-free energy to Microsoft’s data centers, with financial penalties if commitments are missed.
“Today is an important day – not just for Helion, but for the entire fusion industry,” said David Kirtley, Helion’s CEO. The company has raised over $1 billion from investors including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, SoftBank, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Details on the Microsoft partnership here.
Fusion Plant Faces Technical Challenges
Despite the groundbreaking event, significant technical hurdles remain for Helion to achieve net energy gain. The company continues developing its seventh-generation fusion prototype, Polaris, which aims to demonstrate electricity generation from fusion at their Everett facility.
Helion’s approach uses magneto-inertial fusion with pulsed magnetic compression, a method different from traditional tokamak reactors. Their previous prototype, Trenta, reportedly reached 100 million degrees Celsius—the minimum temperature generally recognized for fusion. Explore the technology behind Helion’s fusion plant.
Experts remain skeptical of the aggressive 2028 commercial timeline, suggesting fusion commercialization may still be decades away. However, CEO Kirtley remains optimistic: “We’re still on track for demonstrating electricity from fusion as soon as this year.”
