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Helion Energy

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Helion Energy, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryFusion power
Founded2013;11 years ago(2013)
Founders
  • David Kirtley
  • John Slough
  • Chris Pihl
  • George Votroubek
Headquarters
Everett, Washington
,
U.S.
Key people
Number of employees
200+[1](2023)
Websitewww.helionenergy.comEdit this at Wikidata

Helion Energy, Inc.is an American fusion research company, located inEverett, Washington.[2]They are developing amagneto-inertial fusiontechnology to producehelium-3andfusion powerviaaneutronic fusion,[3][4]which could produce low-cost clean electric energy using a fuel that can be derived exclusively from water.[5]

History[edit]

The company was founded in 2013 by David Kirtley, John Slough, Chris Pihl, and George Votroubek.[6]The management team won the 2013 National Cleantech Open Energy Generation competition and awards at the 2014ARPA-EFuture Energy Startup competition,[7]were members of the 2014Y Combinatorprogram,[8]and were awarded a 2015 ARPA-E ALPHA contract, "Staged Magnetic Compression of FRC Targets to Fusion Conditions".[9]

In 2022, the company was one of five finalists for the 2022GeekWireAwards for innovation of the year, specifically for fusion energy start up category.[10]

In 2023, the company was one of five finalists for the 2023GeekWireBest workplaces of the year.[11]

On May 10, 2023, Helion Energy announced thatMicrosoftwill become the first customer of Helion Energy, and Helion Energy will provide fusion power to Microsoft starting in 2028.[12]

Technology[edit]

This system is intended to operate at 1 Hz, injecting plasma, compressing it to fusion conditions, expanding it, and recovering the energy to produce electricity.[13]The pulsed-fusion system that is used is theoretically able to run 24/7 for electricity production. Due to its compact size, the systems may be able to replace current fossil fuel infrastructure without major needs for investment.[14]

Fuel[edit]

Helion uses a combination ofdeuteriumand3
Heas fuel. Deuterium and3He allows mostlyaneutronic fusion,releasing only 5% of its energy in the form of fastneutrons.Commercial3He is rare and expensive. Instead Helion produces3He bydeuteron-deuteron (D-D)side reactions to the deuterium -3He reactions. D-D fusion has an equal chance of producing a3He atom and of producing atritiumatom plus a proton. Tritium beta decays into more3He with a half-life of 12.32 years. Helion plans to capture the3He produced this way and reuse it as fuel. Helion has a patent on this process.[15]

Confinement[edit]

This fusion approach uses the magnetic field of afield-reversed configuration(FRC)plasmoid(operated with solid state electronics derived from power switching electronics inwind turbines) to prevent plasma energy losses. An FRC is a magnetized plasma configuration notable for its closed field lines, highbetaand lack of internal penetrations.[7]

Compression[edit]

Two FRC plasmoids are accelerated to velocities exceeding 300 km/s with pulsed magnetic fields which then merge into a single plasmoid at high pressure.[7]Published plans target compressing fusion plasmas to 12tesla(T).[16]

Energy generation[edit]

Energy is captured bydirect energy conversionthat uses the expansion of the plasma to induce a current in the magnetic compression- and acceleration- coils. Separately it translates high-energy fusion products, such asalpha particlesdirectly into a voltage.3He produced by D-D fusion carries 0.82 MeV of energy. Tritium byproducts carry 1.01 MeV, while the proton produces 3.02 MeV.

This approach eliminates the need for steam turbines, cooling towers, and their associated energy losses. According to the company, this process also allows the recovery of a significant part of the input energy at a round-trip efficiency of over 95%[7][17][18]

Development history[edit]

The company's Fusion Engine is based on the Inductive Plasmoid Accelerator (IPA) experiments[19][20]performed from 2005 through 2012. These experiments used deuterium-deuterium fusion, which produced a 2.45 MeV neutron in half of the reactions. The IPA experiments claimed 300 km/s velocities, deuterium neutron production, and 2 keV deuterium ion temperatures.[20]Helion and MSNW published articles describing adeuterium-tritiumimplementation that is the easiest to achieve but generates 14 MeV neutrons. The Helion team published peer-reviewed research demonstrating D-D neutron production in 2011.[20]

4th prototype, 'Grande'[edit]

In 2014, according to the timeline on the company website, Grande, Helion's 4th fusion prototype, was developed to test high field operation. Grande achieves magnetic field compression of 4 tesla, forms cm-scale FRCs, and reaches plasma temperatures of 5 keV. Grande outperforms any other private fusion company.[17]

In 2015 Helion demonstrated the first direct magnetic energy recovery from a subscale pulsed magnetic system, utilizing modern high-voltage insulated gate bipolar transistors to recover energy at over 95% round-trip efficiency for over 1 million pulses. In a smaller system, the team demonstrated the formation of more than 1 billion FRCs.[17]

5th prototype, 'Venti'[edit]

In 2018, the 5th prototype, "Venti" had magnetic fields of 7T and at high density, an ion temperature of 2 keV.[14]Helion detailed D-D fusion experiments producing neutrons in an October 2018 report at theUnited States Department of Energy'sARPA-E's annual ALPHA program meeting.[21]Experiments that year achieved plasmas with multi-keV temperatures[22]and a triple product of6.4 × 1018keV·s/m3.[23]

6th prototype, 'Trenta'[edit]

In 2021, the firm announced that after a 16-month test cycle with more than 10,000 pulses, its sixth prototype, Trenta, had reached 100 million degrees C, the temperature they would run a commercial reactor at.[14]Magnetic compression fields exceeded 10 T, ion temperatures surpassed 8 keV, and electron temperatures exceeded 1 keV.[24][25]The company further reported ion densities up to3 × 1022ions/m3and confinement times of up to 0.5 ms.[26]

7th prototype, 'Polaris'[edit]

Helion's seventh-generation prototype, Project Polaris was in development in 2021, with completion expected in 2024.[27]The device was expected to increase the pulse rate from one pulse every 10 minutes to one pulse per second for short periods.[28]This prototype is expected to be able to heat fusion plasma up to temperatures greater than 100 million degrees C.[29]Polaris is planned to be 25% larger than Trenta to ensure that ions do not damage the vessel walls.[27]

8th prototype[edit]

As of January 2022,an eighth iteration was in the design stage.[30]

Overview[edit]

Prototype Year developed Notable features Achievements
Inductive Plasmoid Accelerator (IPA) experiments 2005-2012 Deuterium-deuterium fusion Achieved 300 km/s velocities, deuterium neutron production, and 2 keV deuterium ion temperatures.
Grande (4th) 2014 High field operation, magnetic field compression of 4 tesla, forms cm-scale FRCs, plasma temperatures of 5 keV Outperformed any other private fusion company at the time.

Demonstrated the first direct magnetic energy recovery from a subscale pulsed magnetic system with over 95% round-trip efficiency for over 1 million pulses.

Venti (5th) 2018 Magnetic fields of 7 T, high-density ion temperature of 2 keV Detailed D-D fusion experiments producing neutrons.

Achieved plasmas with multi-keV temperatures and a triple product of 6.4 × 1018keV·s/m3.

Trenta (6th) 2021 Magnetic compression fields over 10 T, ion temperatures over 8 keV, electron temperatures over 1 keV Achieved 100 million degrees C after a 16-month test cycle with more than 10,000 pulses.

Reported ion densities up to 3 × 1022ions/m3and confinement times of up to 0.5 ms.

Polaris (7th) Under development in 2021, expected completion in 2024 Expected to increase the pulse rate to one pulse per second for short periods, heat fusion plasma up to temperatures greater than 100 million degrees C, 25% larger than Trenta Still under development
8th prototype Under design in 2022 Not specified Still under design

Funding[edit]

Helion Energy received $7 million in funding fromNASA,theUnited States Department of Energyand theDepartment of Defense,[31]followed by $1.5 million from theprivate sectorin August 2014, through theseed acceleratorsY Combinatorand Mithril Capital Management.[32]

In 2021, the company was valued at three billion dollars.[33]As of late 2021, investment totaled $77.8M.[34]In November 2021, Helion received $500 million in Series E funding, with an additional $1.7 billion of commitments tied to specific milestones.[35]The funding was mainly led bySam Altman,CEO ofOpenAI,who is also the executive chairman of Helion.[36][37]

Criticism[edit]

RetiredPrinceton Plasma Physics Laboratoryresearcher Daniel Jassby mentioned Helion Energy in a letter included in theAmerican Physical SocietynewsletterPhysics & Society(April 2019) as being among fusion start-ups allegedly practicing "voodoo fusion" rather than legitimate science. He noted that the company is one of several that has continually claimed "power in 5 to 10 years, but almost all have apparently never produced a single D-D fusion reaction".[38]However, Helion published peer-reviewed research demonstrating D-D neutron production as early as 2011[20]and according to the independentJASONreview team, VENTI, a sub-scale prototype Helion developed partially for the ALPHA program, achieved initial results of8 × 1022ions/m3,4 × 10−5seconds energy confinement time and a temperature of 2 keV in 2018.[23]In 2020 Helion was the first private company to successfully demonstrate thermonuclear fusion plasmas exceeding 9 keV with expected D-D fusion reactions and neutrons[39]and greater than1 × 1020keV-s/m3,Lawson criterion.[26]

The same 2018MITRE/JASON report, commissioned by the US Department of Energy'sARPA-E,said that Helion project leads or literature stated that they need a 40Teslamagnetic field for commercial viability, had the capability for an 8 Tesla field in their prototype, and projected they would achieve breakeven in 2023. The report stated that the primary challenge with Helion's approach is "whether they can simultaneously achieve sufficiently high compression while maintaining plasma stability."[23]As of 2023, their prototype has a 10 tesla field and they project breakeven in 2024.[40]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helion_Energy&oldid=1229102118"