Posted on 05/10/2023 3:44:50 PM PDT by algore
Helion Energy signed its first customer this week.
The Everett-based company agreed to provide the software giant Microsoft with at least 50 megawatts of electricity from its planned first fusion power plant, starting in 2028.
Fifty megawatts is enough electricity to power a data center or factory, said David Kirtley, Helion’s CEO.
Founded in 2013, Helion has launched a multi-billion-dollar effort to produce electricity from fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the sun and stars.
Fusion has long been viewed as a potential zero-carbon source of energy.
Unlike nuclear fission, which obtains its energy from splitting atoms, fusion does not produce significant amounts of radioactive waste.
Electricity production is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“This collaboration represents a significant milestone for Helion and the fusion industry as a whole,” Kirtley said. “We are grateful for the support of a visionary company like Microsoft. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are confident in our ability to deliver the world’s first fusion power facility.”
In a statement, Microsoft’s vice chair and president Brad Smith said, “We are optimistic that fusion energy can be an important technology to help the world transition to clean energy. “Helion’s announcement supports our own long term clean energy goals and will advance the market to establish a new, efficient method for bringing more clean energy to the grid, faster.”
Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, which provides electric power, natural gas, and energy management services, will serve as the power marketer and manage the transmission of electricity from Helion
Last year, Helion published results claiming it was the first private company to reach 100-million-degree plasma temperatures with its sixth fusion prototype.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldnet.com ...
Unbelievably I was in that town and randomly crashed their breakthrough party a few months ago and talked to them for a bit.
While they did not look like nuclear physicists they were partying really hard and beyond exited.
“Fusion is now.”
Nah, fusion is ALWAYS in 20 years.
Wonder if it could be modified so the ejection forms a propulsion system.
“Fusion is now.”
They will not make the 2028 date.
50 Megawatts is a small industrial fossil fuel power plant.
For the last 50 years, Fusion power has been 20 years away. Remember the Tokamak? Was that named after a native American?
It’s Russian actually. And they are actually building ITER in France which is supposed to be the first one that can make more power than it uses.
It seems no different than anyone else's approach. It won't be ready.
I’ll wait until they actually have a working prototype that actually produces electricity.
“It seems no different than anyone else’s approach.”
Different.
It’s quite different, because it doesn’t rely on keeping the plasma continuously bottled, just long enough to fuse and then eject. The process is then repeated.
“It seems no different than anyone else’s approach. It won’t be ready.”
I am not so sure about that.
like I said, I was at their breakthrough party on March 3rd and they seemed pretty certain they were going to change the world as we know it.
Normally I would be as skeptical as I always was to Kevmo when he was still around
“Was that named after a native American?”
Of course! Where do you think Ted Turner got the Tokamak Chop from?
“like I said, I was at their breakthrough party on March 3rd and they seemed pretty certain they were going to change the world as we know it.”
They have yet to demonstrate a net energy production.
No commercial plant design.
No NRC licensing plan
No site analysis
No safety evaluation
No production by 2028.
Since 2004
As Elon says, use the fusion reactor in the sky. Safer and economical and with wind and batteries, reliable.
The most recent experiment was no more powerful than years before.
It’s a long way from fusion that won’t sustain itself to promising 50 megawatts in 5 years.
Last fall, a group of Silicon Valley investors, including Sam Altman, Helion’s chairman of the board, provided a $500 million capital infusion to fund Polaris.
Another $1.7 billion is available should Helion reach key milestones. Kirtley said Monday the company is on track to achieve those milestones.
“Wonder if it could be modified so the ejection forms a propulsion system.”
That system as described would.
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