Helion lands preliminary 175 million dollar federal award to build domestic fusion chips

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a letter of intent to provide fusion startup Helion Energy with up to $175 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding. Under the proposed three-year agreement, the government would take a $175 million non-voting equity stake in the Everett, Washington-based company. Helion is contributing another $50 million in private capital to the initiative. [1][2]

The project allocates more than $100 million toward research and automated manufacturing in Washington for high-voltage, pulsed semiconductors and advanced packaging. Roughly $80 million will fund research and tooling partnerships with GlobalFoundries, primarily in Vermont. Helion’s reactor design recovers electricity directly from expanding plasma using magnetic fields rather than steam turbines, a process that requires semiconductors to handle high voltages with minimal power loss. CEO David Kirtley told TechCrunch that cutting current semiconductor losses in half could effectively double the power output of future fusion systems. [1][2]

The effort aims to establish a domestic supply chain for specialized power electronics that are currently sourced overseas, with applications spanning the electrical grid, wastewater treatment, and defense. The new chips are not expected to be ready in time for the initial launch of Orion, Helion's commercial-scale plant currently under construction in Malaga, Washington, which is slated to start providing power to Microsoft in 2028. [1][2]