Helon Energy, Will Provide Electricity For Microsoft Through Nuclear Fuss

Polaris, Helon Energy's seventh generation nuclear fusion machine. (photo: twitter @Helion_Energy)

JAKARTA - The US private fusion nuclear company Helon Energy will provide electricity for Microsoft in about five years. This agreement was announced by the two companies on Wednesday 10 May. This is the first agreement for the energy resources that drive the sun but are difficult to reach on this Earth.

More than 30 companies and government laboratories are competing to generate electricity from fusion, which one day can help the world reduce emissions associated with climate change. Unlike current fission reactors, fusion can produce electricity without producing long-lasting radioactive waste.

Fussion occurs when two light hydrogen-like atoms, heated at extreme temperatures, merge into one heavier atom, releasing large energy. So far, fusion reactions on Earth have only lasted for a moment and spent more energy than they generate, but the company has raised about $5 billion in private funding in a bid to achieve net energy gain.

The Helion plant is expected to go online in 2028 and will target a 50 megawatt power plant or more after a one-year increase, according to the company. One megawatt can supply around 1,000 homes in the United States on weekdays.

"The 50 megawatt power plant is the first major step on a commercial scale of fusion, and revenue will return to us to develop more power plants and bring fusion into the power grid in the United States and internationally as quickly as possible," said David Kirtley, Washington-based founder and CEO of Helian., in an interview, quoted by Reuters.

According to Kirtley, Polaris, Helian's seventh-generation engine, should online next year and demonstrate power generation, using a mix of laser and magnetic technology to achieve fusion. In 2021, Helian became the first private company to reach a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million degrees Fahrenheit). "But the optimal temperature for fusion is about twice that," Kirtley said.

While many fusion companies are looking for tritium, a rare hydrogen isotope, to help drive the reaction, Helian plans to use Helium 3, a rare type of gas used in quantum computing.

Helian has so far raised more than $570 million in private capital, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman providing $375 million in 2021.

Brad Smith, Vice Chairman and President of Microsoft Corp, said in a statement that Helon's work "supports our long-term clean energy goals and will advance the market to establish an efficient new method to bring more clean energy to the power grid, sooner."