Helion Energy, a private U.S. nuclear fusion company, has signed a power purchase agreement with Microsoft, marking the first-ever deal of its kind.
This agreement could produce renewable energy without creating long-lasting radioactive waste.
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The Helion project plans to produce 50MW or more of power when it is operational in 2028.
- On average, one MW can power up to 1,000 households in the U.S.
- Next year, Polaris, Helion's seventh-generation machine, will go online to show how power may be produced utilizing laser and magnet technology.
- Over $570M in private funding has been obtained for Helion, including a sizeable investment from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
- Brad Smith, vice chair and president at Microsoft, said, "Microsoft views Helion's work as compatible with its mission to bring clean energy to the grid quickly and aims to create a new approach to do so."
- The companies did not disclose the deal's value or which Microsoft buildings would get power from it.
- Private investors invested over $4.44B into a nuclear fusion pursuit in 2021, a significant increase from the previous five years' $1.5B investment, according to McKinsey & Co.