But Helion is developing what it calls a “pulsed non-ignition fusion system,” which only requires fusion to take place for short periods. Most other labs and startups rely on powerful lasers or doughnut-shaped machines surrounded by powerful magnets, known as tokamaks, to create the conditions in which a sustained series of fusion reactions can occur-a condition known as ignition. That produces a new atom minus a little bit of mass, the loss of which generates a whole lot of energy. While the fission reactions that power traditional nuclear power plants split atoms apart, fusion works by forcing them together, under extremely high temperatures, to overcome the usual repulsive forces of atoms in close proximity. “The results and progress of our 6th prototype give us great confidence that our timeline is realistic and that we can build the first fusion power plant by 2028," the statement continued. “Given the history of fusion, we understand that there will be skepticism, and we believe that skepticism is healthy,” Helion said in a response to MIT Technology Review. The company is now building a seventh, Polaris, that it expects will demonstrate the ability to produce electricity from the reactions next year. It announced in 2021 that the latest, dubbed Trenta, reached temperatures of more than 100 million ˚C, making it the first private company to publicly reveal it had achieved the temperatures necessary for a commercial plant. Helion has developed and tested six prototypes to date. He also says that it has already made significant advances. It could make it cheaper and easier to eliminate the greenhouse gases driving climate change from the power sector, and it would help meet soaring electricity demand as the world races to cut pollution from transportation, homes, office buildings, and industry.īut Kirtley stresses that the company, which employs nearly 160 people, is taking an approach that sidesteps some of the obstacles other research groups and startups face. But if Helion pulls it off, it would be a big deal: economical commercial fusion plants could deliver a steady stream of clean electricity, without the intermittency challenges of solar and wind power or the controversies and concerns associated with the technology’s nuclear cousin, fission. That’s small as power plants go: the generating capacity of a typical US natural-gas plant is now well over 500 megawatts. Helion expects that the plant will be built somewhere in the state of Washington, go online in 2028, and reach its full generating capacity of at least 50 megawatts within a year. Nevertheless, the 10-year-old company, which is based in Everett, Washington, has already lined up its first customer for the planned commercial facility, striking a power purchase agreement with the software giant Microsoft.
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