Helion has signed a letter of intent to receive up to $175 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Act through the CHIPS Research and Development Office, the company announced Thursday. The three-year award is a letter of intent, not a final funding agreement, and the maximum amount is anticipated rather than paid out. [1][3]
The federal award will be matched by $50 million in private investment that Helion did not identify. The combined $225 million will support semiconductor research, manufacturing and advanced packaging at a new production line in Everett, Washington. David Kirtley, Helion's co-founder and CEO, said, "Building fusion power plants at scale requires us to accelerate the development of technologies like semiconductors that are critical to making fusion possible." [1][3]
Helion says the line will be the first in the U.S. to make this class of high-voltage, pulsed semiconductors, which are also used in manufacturing, wastewater treatment, medicine and defense. The company's existing power electronics devices lose about 5% to 10% of the electricity passing through them. Kirtley told TechCrunch, "If we can cut that loss in half, that's actually twice the power output of the fusion system." Kirtley also said there are no U.S. manufacturers of this semiconductor class today. [1]
The company is building its first power plant, Orion, and is working toward a 2028 deadline to deliver electricity to Microsoft through the grid. Kirtley acknowledged that the semiconductor R&D funded by the award will not reach Orion in time for launch because federal contracts can take months to negotiate, but he said it should improve later Helion plants. Helion has raised more than $3.2 billion in total, making it the second-best-funded fusion startup according to TechCrunch. [1][2]
More than $100 million of the Helion award is set aside for semiconductor and advanced packaging R&D in Washington State, and about $80 million will support advanced semiconductor tooling, design and process development with GlobalFoundries in Vermont. Separately, GlobalFoundries has received more than $80 million in federal funding to advance gallium-nitride semiconductor manufacturing. [1]
Helion is one of four companies in a Commerce plan to provide up to $389 million for power semiconductors and critical materials under the CHIPS and Science Act. Commonwealth Fusion Systems would receive up to $85 million, Vertical Semiconductor up to $73 million, and Sibelco up to $56 million. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, "The Trump Administration is accelerating American semiconductor innovation to enhance our domestic energy and power resources." The Helion deal would give Commerce a $175 million non-voting, non-controlling equity stake, according to a plan described by DiarioBitcoin. The proposed funding follows 19 semiconductor research and development grants issued in recent months. [3]
Helion's fusion approach captures electricity directly from fusion reactions, rather than using heat to spin a turbine. Efficient power electronics are a key part of that process.
Sources
- Fusion startup Helion is developing new semiconductors that could double output of its power plants, TechCrunch
- Helion receives $175 million for semiconductors and another $50 million in investment — TechCrunch, UA.NEWS
- U.S. Commerce Department Plans Up To $389M for Power Semiconductors Under CHIPS Act, NewsCord
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Elliot Marsh covers startups, IPO filings and the money behind them for Venturist. Elliot writes from SEC filings, company announcements and published reporting.