Helion, a fusion energy company, has on Tuesday announced a $425 million Series F investment round that will be used to scale commercialization efforts for the company’s groundbreaking fusion technology.
The oversubscribed and upsized round had participation from new investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and a major university endowment, and existing investors including Sam Altman, Mithril Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, Dustin Moskovitz through Good Ventures Foundation, and Nucor, Helion said in a statement.
This latest round of funding will bring the total invested in Helion to over $1 billion and values the company at $5.425 billion post-money.
Helion intends for its first fusion power plant to be sited in the state of Washington.
In 2023, the company announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Microsoft to deliver electricity from a 50 MW fusion plant starting in 2028 and a customer agreement with Nucor to develop a 500 MW power plant in the 2030s.
“We are on the brink of delivering a transformative energy solution that can meet the world’s increasing electricity demands while preserving U.S. energy leadership,” said David Kirtley, Helion’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
“Our mission has always been focused on rapidly developing and deploying safe, reliable fusion generators that provide abundant, affordable electricity,
“Earning the support of such a prestigious group of investors is a testament to our progress in both solving hard scientific and technical challenges and tackling the practical realities of building hardware to commercialize a brand-new technology,” he added.
Helion recently began operating its 7th generation prototype, Polaris, which is expected to demonstrate the first electricity produced from fusion.
With its previous prototype, Trenta, Helion was the first private company to achieve a fuel temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius, which is generally considered the required operating temperature for a commercial fusion power plant.
“Fusion has the potential to be a truly transformational technology for industry and society and we see Helion as leading the race to bring that technology to market,
“After extensive due diligence, we’re very confident in Helion’s technology and leadership as the company moves from research and development into commercial production,” said Ravi Mhatre, Managing Partner and co-founder of Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Helion is a fusion energy company focused on generating zero-carbon electricity from fusion.
The firm aims to build the world’s first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity.
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