Fusion startup Helion is reportedly in talks to sell power to OpenAI. Both companies are backed by Sam Altman.
The deal, reported by Axios, is in its early stages and could see OpenAI guaranteeing 12.5% of Helion’s production: 5 gigawatts by 2030 and 50 gigawatts by 2035. OpenAI partner Microsoft signed a similar agreement with Helion in 2023 to purchase power starting in 2028.
If the numbers in the Axios report prove accurate, they suggest Helion expects to quickly scale up production of its fusion power plants. Helion says each reactor will generate 50 megawatts of electricity, meaning it will need to build and install 800 reactors by 2030 and another 7,200 by 2035.
The company did not immediately respond to inquiries from TechCrunch.
By then, Helion is rushing to build its first commercial-scale nuclear reactor. If the startup succeeds, it will be years ahead of its competitors, which are primarily targeting commercial operation in the early 2030s.
The startup raised $425 million last year from investors including Altman and companies like Mithril, Lightspeed, and SoftBank.
Most fusion startups pursue one of two approaches: recovering heat from the fusion reaction or converting the heat into electricity using steam turbines. Helion is taking a different tack, developing a reactor design that uses magnets to convert fusion energy into electricity.
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Inside an hourglass-shaped reactor, fusion fuel first turns into plasma at each end and is shot towards each other using a magnetic field. When they collide in the center, another set of magnets compresses the fused plasma balls until fusion occurs. This reaction pushes the magnet back and converts its energy directly into electricity.
Helion is currently operating a Polaris prototype ahead of transition to commercial power. In February, the company created a plasma inside its reactor that reached temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius, almost reaching the 200 million degrees Celsius it believes is necessary for commercial operation.
Although Altman has reportedly stepped down as Helion board chairman and withdrawn from discussions, his fingerprints are all over matchmaking.
Mr. Altman last year resigned as chairman of the board of Oklo, a small modular nuclear reactor startup that merged with acquisition company AltC. “This move was intended to allow Oklo to explore strategic partnerships with leading AI companies, potentially including a partnership with OpenAI,” Oklo co-founder and chief operating officer Caroline Cochran said in a statement given to CNBC at the time.
