Helion Energy — Technical Profile & Analysis

The only fusion company with a binding commercial power purchase agreement (Microsoft, 50 MW from 2028). Helion's linear FRC directly induces electricity into magnetic coils rather than heating water, eliminating the steam cycle. Thesis: Convert plasma magnetic energy directly to electricity via induction, enabling a small, cheap, repetitively-pulsed power module that fits a hyperscaler campus. Key engineering bottlenecks: Plasma-ring merging stability at full energy; Helium-3 fuel sourcing (Helion synthesises its own from D-D side reactions); Capacitor-bank lifetime under repetitive discharge. Recent milestones: 2023 — Signed Microsoft PPA — 50 MW from 2028; 2025 — $425M Series F; Polaris commissioning; 2025 — Broke ground on Orion commercial facility; Late 2026 — Tiny Merge agile testbed online; 2028 — First electricity to Microsoft (contractual deadline). Device pipeline: Polaris → Tiny Merge testbed → Orion (50 MWe). Timeline: Microsoft PPA delivery 2028.