Microsoft agreed to work with Helion Energy. The latter will supply the former's electricity through its nuclear fusion generator.
Microsoft Will Purchase Helion's Nuclear Fusion Generator
Microsoft just completed an astounding contract to buy electricity from a nuclear fusion generator. Scientists have been searching for nuclear fusion, sometimes called the Holy Grail of energy, as a potentially unlimited source of clean energy for the better part of a century, The Verge reported.
By 2028, Helion Energy believes it can provide Microsoft with the awaited Holy Grail of energy announced this morning about a power purchase deal with Microsoft that would allow it to connect the first commercial fusion generator in the world to a power grid in Washington. The target is to produce at least 50 megawatts of power, more than the 42MW the first two offshore wind farms in the US can have.
Robert Rosner, theoretical physicist at the University of Chicago, said it was the most audacious thing he had ever heard. However, he was positive about it, saying it was the kind of thing he would never say never. However, he also admitted that it would be astonishing if they succeeded.
Experts' optimistic estimates for when the world might see its first nuclear fusion power plant have ranged from the end of the decade to several decades from now. Helion's success depends on achieving remarkable breakthroughs in an incredibly short span of time and then commercializing its technology to make it cost-competitive with other energy sources. Nevertheless, Helion is unfazed.
This binding agreement has financial penalties if we can't build a fusion system, Helion founder and CEO David Kirtley told The Verge. He added that they were committed to building and selling a system commercially to [Microsoft].
Brad Smith, vice chair and president at Microsoft, said that their partnership with Helion supports the company's long-term goal for clean energy and will help the market establish efficient methods for bringing clean energy to the grid sooner.
What Is Helion Energy
Helion Energy is building the world's first fusion power plant for unlimited clean electricity. Fusion is considered the future of clean, reliable, and unlimited energy thanks to deuterium found in water and helium-3 from deuterium atoms.
The oceans are rich in deuterium and can generate zero-carbon fusion energy in the next billions of years. Helion is working on harnessing the power of fusion and converting it into electricity.
A fusion system is the opposite of nuclear power plants, releasing energy through fission or splitting atoms apart. The disadvantage of fission is that it leaves behind unstable nuclei that remain radioactive for millions of years. On the other hand, fusion avoids the radioactive waste problem as the process only involves creating new helium atoms.
The most advanced attempts at generating electricity through nuclear fusion involve shooting powerful laser beams at a tiny target or relying on magnetic fields to confine superheated matter called plasma with a machine called a tokamak. Helium has its approach to building a fusion system and doesn't use the aforementioned methods. Helion is working on a 40-foot device called a plasma accelerator that heats fuel to 100 million degrees Celsius. It heats deuterium and helium-3 into a plasma and then uses pulsed magnetic fields to compress the plasma until fusion happens.
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