Helion Energy targets 2028 fusion power as AI drives electricity crunch
Surging data center demand elevates baseload energy, as projects secure contracts, scale manufacturing and confront supply chain constraints
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the global energy landscape, shifting the constraint from compute capacity to electricity supply. What was once a stable power market is now being redefined by surging demand from data centers and advanced digital infrastructure.
This shift is forcing a reassessment of how future energy needs will be met. Reliable, continuous power is becoming a strategic requirement, elevating technologies that can deliver at scale and operate beyond the limits of intermittent generation.
“Power markets were growing at just 2% a year. That’s no longer the case. We’re seeing the advent of AI, and we’re still in the very early innings of where AI is heading,” said Prag Jain, chief financial officer of Helion Energy.
“The constraints are not chips anymore. It’s power. Fusion is going to play a key role in providing base load, reliable, abundant power that will enable AI,” he said.
He said hyperscale operators are increasingly focused on securing long-term energy supply to support sustained growth. This has elevated interest in baseload solutions that can operate continuously, rather than relying solely on intermittent renewable generation.
The growing recognition of power as a limiting factor is strengthening investor conviction in fusion. The technology is being viewed less as a distant scientific ambition and more as a practical response to infrastructure demand.
He added that AI workloads require large amounts of consistently available power. Training frontier models and running large-scale inference systems both depend on a stable electricity supply. Fusion’s role is being framed as complementary to renewables. While solar and battery technologies continue to scale, their intermittency limits their ability to meet round-the-clock demand.
Natural gas and other carbon-based fuels remain the real competition in the near term. Fusion will need to prove it can become reliable, abundant and cost-competitive before it can displace these sources.
Helion Energy is a US-based fusion company developing pulsed fusion generators. The company focuses on commercial electricity production, with a strategy built around power purchase agreements, manufacturing scale-up and direct delivery commitments to large customers.
In February 2026, Helion said its Polaris prototype set new industry benchmarks. It became the first privately developed machine to demonstrate measurable deuterium–tritium (D–T) fusion and reached plasma temperatures of about 150 million degrees Celsius. https://www.helionenergy.com/articles/helion-achieves-new-fusion-energy-milestones/
The seventh-generation Polaris system, which has been operating since late 2024, also marked the first private use of D–T fuel, following regulatory approval to handle tritium for fusion tests. The results show the company can operate across different fuels. Further testing focuses on optimizing deuterium–helium‑3 fuel, which Helion plans to use for commercial power generation.
2028 power delivery
At Fusion Fest in London on April 14, a fireside chat moderated by Oliver Morton, senior briefings editor at The Economist, examined how fusion is moving from development to delivery. The event, organized by Economist Impact, focused on how capital needs evolve once construction and contracts are in place.
Jain said the industry is approaching a commercial inflection point, with timelines that challenge traditional expectations.
“We remain on track to serve a PPA (power purchase agreement) contract for Microsoft in 2028. It’s not decades away. It’s here and now,” he said.
He said the industry is at an inflection point, similar to the early days of autonomous driving, where technologies that once seemed distant are now moving into real-world deployment. The company has already broken ground on its first commercial fusion power plant, designed to deliver 50 megawatts to Microsoft data centers under a PPA. The project, Orion, is based in Malaga, Washington.
The Microsoft agreement was announced in 2023, but the relationship dates back to 2015. Early engagement with customers is critical because fusion projects require long-term planning that extends beyond technical validation.
The company is on its seventh and final prototype, marking a structured progression toward commercial deployment. Moving from development to delivery introduces fixed timelines, customer accountability and tighter expectations from regulators and capital providers.
“We’ve been laser-focused on timelines, capital efficiency and relentless execution. That’s what has allowed us to gain investor confidence,” Jain said. “We’ve raised about a billion dollars and built seven prototypes with a fraction of that capital. Those are the things that matter when you’re moving toward commercialization.”
A recent Series F funding round, initially targeted at $325 million, was upsized twice to $425 million, with more than $1 billion in firm commitments. This reflects strong investor demand tied to execution discipline rather than scientific promise alone.
The company’s approach emphasizes iterative prototyping. This allows engineering challenges to be addressed progressively while maintaining capital efficiency.
Helion prioritizes protecting its core intellectual property as it scales. The focus remains on commercializing electricity at scale and achieving a low levelized cost of energy (LCOE).
Investors are increasingly evaluating fusion companies on their ability to secure customers, build infrastructure, and meet timelines, rather than solely on scientific milestones.
Supply chain constraints
As fusion projects move into construction and delivery phases, capital requirements are becoming more structured and continuous. Financing is shifting toward infrastructure-style models, in which contracts, supply chains, and execution risk carry greater weight.
“As you move toward commercialization, it requires additional investment as you ramp up capacity. You will continue to see that as we invest in supply chains and scale,” Jain said.
Long-term contracts such as PPAs provide revenue visibility and align stakeholders, including investors, customers and regulators. They also anchor project timelines and operational expectations.
Helion’s first PPA is with Microsoft for 50 megawatts. A second agreement with Nucor, the largest steel company in the US, covers 500 megawatts and is expected to evolve into a full PPA.
“The majority of that capital was dedicated toward expanding a manufacturing footprint. We’re increasing capacitor production capacity by about 60 times to deliver the first commercial plant and beyond,” he said.
The company has built new production capacity to support Orion and future deployments. Fusion development depends on physical infrastructure, manufacturing capability and supply chain coordination.
“We’re investing in our suppliers, in prepaid orders and in their assembly lines. You have to lay this groundwork today,” he said.
These investments aim to ensure reliability and scalability across the supply chain. Delays in supplier readiness can slow entire projects in capital-intensive industries.
Jain added that scaling production is essential to move beyond one-off projects and enable repeatable deployment of fusion generators.
“Our belief is it’s the supply chains and the manufacturing footprint that are required to scale and get to low cost. That’s what will allow us to displace natural gas and other power sources,” he said.
Regulation is also a key factor. The company secured permits for Orion in less than a year after engaging with local communities, tribal representatives and regional stakeholders over several years.
The project is designed to supply power to the grid, with Constellation Energy Corp acting as the broker. A ramp-up period is planned to increase the capacity factor over time.
The industry’s focus is shifting from scientific validation to industrial execution. The challenge now lies in building systems that can deliver fusion power at scale. As demand for electricity continues to rise, the ability to align capital, manufacturing and supply chains will determine how quickly fusion moves from concept to commercial reality.