Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is reportedly resigning from his position as board chair of Helion, a fusion energy startup he supports, as discussions between the two entities come to light. According to an Axios report, these early-stage negotiations could secure OpenAI a significant portion of Helion's future energy output: 12.5% of its production, amounting to five gigawatts by 2030 and expanding to 50 gigawatts by 2035. This potential arrangement mirrors a similar agreement Helion made in 2023 with Microsoft, an OpenAI partner, for power acquisition commencing in 2028.
Should the figures detailed in the Axios report be confirmed, they indicate Helion's ambitious projection for rapid scaling of its fusion power plant production. The startup has previously stated that each of its reactors is designed to generate 50 megawatts of electricity, implying a requirement to construct and deploy 800 reactors by 2030, followed by an additional 7,200 units by 2035.
Helion declined to verify whether discussions with OpenAI were in progress. A company spokesperson informed TechCrunch that no new customer agreements beyond its existing partnerships with Microsoft and Nucor have been announced. Nevertheless, Helion did confirm to TechCrunch Altman's departure from the board chair, a move that hints at the potential for future collaboration between the two organizations.
David Kirtley, Helion's co-founder and CEO, provided a statement to TechCrunch, confirming, “Sam is stepping down from Helion’s Board of Directors after more than a decade. This decision enables Helion and OpenAI to partner on future opportunities to bring zero-carbon, safe electricity to the world.” Kirtley added, “We look forward to continuing to work with him in this new capacity.”
Helion is actively pursuing the construction of its inaugural commercial-scale reactor within the specified timeframe. Should the startup achieve this goal, it would position them years ahead of competitors, most of whom are aiming for commercial operations in the early 2030s.
Last year, the startup successfully secured $425 million in funding from a consortium of investors, notably including Sam Altman himself, alongside firms such as Mithril, Lightspeed, and SoftBank.
While the majority of fusion startups typically follow one of two established methods – either capturing heat from fusion reactions to drive a steam turbine for electricity generation – Helion is adopting an innovative approach. Their reactor design utilizes magnets to directly convert fusion energy into electrical power.
Within its distinctive hourglass-shaped reactor, fusion fuel is initially transformed into plasma at opposing ends. These plasma streams are then propelled towards each other by magnetic fields. Upon their central collision, a subsequent array of magnets compresses the resulting merged plasma sphere until a fusion reaction is initiated. This reaction exerts pressure back onto the magnets, enabling the direct conversion of that energy into electricity.
Helion is presently operating its Polaris prototype, a crucial step preceding its drive toward commercial power generation. In February, the company successfully produced plasmas within this reactor that reached an impressive 150 million degrees Celsius, nearing the 200 million degrees Celsius threshold believed necessary for sustained commercial operations.
Despite Altman's resignation as Helion's board chair and his reported recusal from the ongoing discussions, his influence on this potential collaboration remains undeniable.
This move follows a similar pattern from last year, when Altman resigned as board chair of Oklo, a small modular nuclear reactor startup that had merged with his acquisition company, AltC. At the time, Caroline Cochran, Oklo’s co-founder and chief operating officer, stated to CNBC that this decision was made “to allow Oklo to explore strategic partnerships with leading AI companies, including potentially with OpenAI.”
An update at 1:30 pm ET confirmed Helion's verification of Altman's departure from his role as board chair.
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