Keep pulling the thread on United States.
Helion is currently building its seventh prototype, Polaris, which is expected to be the first machine to demonstrate electricity production from fusion.
Helion has an agreement with Nucor to develop a 500-megawatt fusion plant to power one of their steel mills.
China is estimated to spend $1.5 billion a year on fusion research and has 10 times as many PhDs as America in the field.
A Chinese company has launched a direct copycat program pursuing Helion's fusion design, and another has publicly stated its intent to replicate key aspects of Helion's approach.
China has started construction on scientific and engineering demonstration fusion machines and is completing a facility for cross-cutting research on materials and fuel cycle technologies.
The U.S. has invested over $1.4 billion in the ITER project, which has benefited 120 U.S. companies.
Helion's power purchase agreement with Microsoft requires the plant to be constructed and begin operations by 2028, reaching full commercial operations in 2029.
Helion predicts it could reduce the cost of fusion power to one cent per kilowatt-hour through mass manufacturing.
China's ENN Energy Research Institute published a schematic identical to Helion's fusion concept for its Heilong experiment.
China's HH Max has publicly stated its intent to replicate Helion's fusion design, acknowledging it as the fastest path to commercial power.
Globally, over 40 fusion companies have raised a collective $7.1 billion in investment over the past five years, with over 85% from private capital.
The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Lab is the only facility in the world to have achieved fusion ignition, defined as producing more energy from fusion than was used to drive the reaction.