Fusion energy developer Helion is progressing toward its goal of launching the first commercial fusion power plant by 2028. The facility, named Orion, is under construction and is slated to provide at least 50 megawatts of power to Microsoft under a power purchase agreement signed in 2023.
The current development phase is focused on the seventh prototype, Polaris, which is designed to be the first to demonstrate electricity generation from fusion. This follows the success of its predecessor, Trenta, which was the first private fusion device to exceed plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius, a key threshold for commercial viability. Helion, a private company backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, remains a key player in the race to commercialize fusion energy.