Hardware Podcasts

Commercial Fusion Has Started: How Helion Is Bringing Power to the Grid by 2028

Hardware to Save a Planet · 5 Feb 2026 · 51m · Episode 95

What this episode covers

Anthony Pancotti, co-founder and Head of R&D at Helion Energy, explains the company's mass-manufacturable approach to commercial fusion, targeting a 2028 grid connection via a landmark power purchase agreement with Microsoft. He details how Helion’s use of deuterium and helium-3 fuel, combined with direct energy recovery, eliminates the need for steam turbines, enabling an assembly-line production model for power plants like Orion. The conversation covers the engineering challenges of high-field pulsed magnets, the regulatory framework established with the Washington State Health Department, and the strategic supply chain decisions to avoid rare earth metals.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Microsoft, New Core, Redwood Materials, Nanotech
Products
Polaris, Orion, Trento
Also
National Ignition Facility

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