A New Type Of Nuclear Fusion Machine Has Come To Life
In a Nutshell
Helion, a secretive fusion startup backed by over $1B from Sam Altman and others, is advancing pulsed magnetic fusion machines like Trenta (which hit 100 million°C and proved direct electricity recovery) toward its massive Polaris prototype, the world's largest magnetic pulse power bank at 60 megajoules. Polaris fires plasmas at million-mph speeds to generate electricity directly at up to 94% efficiency, skipping steam turbines, amid skepticism over unpublished results and delays. The next machine, Orion, targets net power by 2028 as Microsoft's first customer, aiming for gigafactories producing daily fusion generators to power AI and replace fossil fuels.
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In Everett, Washington, visiting Helion, a fusion startup that rarely allows access. Almost died getting there. Helion hasn't let journalists see its prized machines before, but now poking around and taking pictures of exotic things. Helion raised over $1 billion from Sam Altman and others to make nuclear fusion real—clean, plentiful energy. Tons of skepticism around fusion and Helion itself: weird, secretive, beyond ambitious.
Helion CEO and co-founder David Kirtley started Helion in 2013. Part of new wave of fusion startups proving technology works after decades of hope and hype. Last fusion visit was in Russia, like 1950s-1960s research with only five guys, far from glory days. Helion backed by over $1 billion, seen as bad boy of the field.
Early machines: Grande showed small-scale fusion, set world records for fusion temperatures. Venti had much higher compression fields to squeeze fusion plasma. Trenta—look down bore where two plasmas meet at 10 million degrees. Most startups use fusion for heat to produce steam for turbines. Helion captures energy directly from fusion reaction: extreme heat fuses atoms, magnetic fields surround charged particles, particles push back to generate electricity.
Take atoms, overcome atomic forces to form heavier elements (hydrogen to helium) that push back on magnetic field, expanding and taking energy directly recovered at high efficiency. Electrical current flows through electromagnets; cable numbers increase down machine for higher compression pressure. Latest machine Polaris built in Ursa building.
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