Helon Energy Starts Construction Of Nuclear Fusion Power Plants For Microsoft Data Center

JAKARTA - Helon Energy, a startup backed by Sam Altman from OpenAI and the venture capital division SoftBank, has started construction of a site for nuclear fusion power plants which is planned to supply power to Microsoft data centers by 2028. This was said by the company on Wednesday, July 30.

The site is located in Malaga, Washington, in the middle of a state along the Columbia River, where Helon hopes to utilize existing power grid infrastructure for nearby Rock Island Dam Hydroelectric Power Plants.

The startup still has to get final permission from the Washington government, but says that this development keeps them on track to sell electricity to Microsoft based on a deal struck in 2023.

Fussion generates electricity by crashing into each other's atoms, releasing energy without producing significant greenhouse gas emissions or creating long-lasting radioactive waste in large quantities. However, despite billions of dollars invested, scientists and engineers have yet to find a way to generate more energy with fusion over the energy needed to create and maintain the reaction.

Helian is still working to resolve this challenge with their current prototype, called Polaris, which is located in Everett, Washington. There, they plan to build components for the engine to be built in Malaga, called Orion.

"Orions will be connected to Washington's main power distribution network," said David Kirtley, co-founder and CEO of Helion, quoted by VOI from Reuters. We will be able to connect to the same network right upstream of Microsoft data center," Kirtley said.

Microsoft has for years stated that nuclear energy should be part of a mixture of carbon-free energy sources and has also signed a power purchase agreement for conventional fission-based nuclear power. "Fussy is a long-term bet," said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft's chief sustainability.

"Over the last three to four years, you have seen various kinds of achievements from various companies and colleagues in the field of fusion, including Helon," Nakagawa said. There is a lot of optimism that this could be a moment where fusion has actually materialized in this decade, or close to this decade.