Sam Altman-backed startup Helion is in talks with OpenAI

Start fusion Asparagus It is reportedly in talks to sell the power to OpenAI. Both companies are backed by Sam Altman.

The deal that was Axios reportedstill in its early stages, could guarantee OpenAI 12.5% ​​of Helion’s production – five gigawatts by 2030 and 50 gigawatts by 2035. OpenAI partner Microsoft A similar deal was signed With Helion in 2023 to purchase energy starting in 2028.

If the numbers in the Axios report prove accurate, it would suggest that Helion expects to be able to quickly scale up the production of its fusion power plant. Helion said each of its reactors will generate 50 megawatts of electricity, meaning it will need to build and install 800 reactors by 2030 and an additional 7,200 reactors by 2035.

The company did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s inquiries.

Helion is racing to build its first commercial reactor by then. If the startup succeeds, it will put it years ahead of the competition, which mostly targets the early 2030s for commercial operations.

startup It raised $425 million last year Investors include Altman as well as Mitril, Lightspeed and Softbank.

Most fusion startups strive to achieve this One of the two approachesHarvesting heat from fusion reactions and using steam turbines to convert it into electricity. Helion is taking a different tack, developing a reactor design that uses magnets to convert fusion energy into electricity.

Inside the hourglass-shaped reactor, fusion fuel is first converted into plasma at both ends and then shot toward each other using magnetic fields. When they collide in the middle, another set of magnets compresses the merging plasma ball until fusion occurs. The reaction pushes the magnet back, which can convert that energy directly into electricity.

Helion is currently operating a Polaris prototype vehicle before moving on to commercial power. In February, the company produced plasma inside the reactor reached 150 million degrees Celsius, Approximately 200 million degrees Celsius the company believes will be required for commercial operations.

Although Altman has resigned as chairman of Helion’s board of directors and withdrawn from the discussions, his fingerprints are all over the matchmaking.

Last year, Altman stepped down as chairman of Oklo, a small nuclear reactor startup that merged with his buyout firm AltC. The move was intended to allow Oklo to explore strategic partnerships with leading AI companies, including potentially OpenAI,” Carolyn Cochran, co-founder and chief operating officer of Oklo, said. He said In a statement he provided to CNBC at the time.