Polaris and Orion
Polaris and Orion is a FRC fusion device run by Helion Energy in United States. It is operating. Like every fusion device built so far, it has produced no net electricity.
Polaris reached a plasma temperature of 150 million °C and demonstrated measurable deuterium-tritium fusion in February 2026, which Helion described as a first for a privately developed machine. The result was not net energy gain and not net electricity.
Helion uses a pulsed field-reversed configuration and aims to recover electricity directly from the expanding plasma's magnetic field, skipping the steam cycle entirely. Construction of its Orion plant began in July 2025, intended to supply 50 MWe from 2028 under an agreement with Microsoft — one of the most aggressive timelines in the field by a wide margin.
| Organisation | Helion Energy |
|---|---|
| Approach | FRC |
| Confinement | magnetic |
| Country | United States |
| Status | Operating |
| First plasma | 2024 |
| Target date | 2028 |
|---|---|
| Power target | 50MW |
| Energy gain target | none stated |
| Net electricity | No. no fusion device has produced any |
Fusion needs tritium, and the world's civilian stock comes mostly from CANDU fission reactors. See the fusion overview.
Sources
- World Nuclear Association and Helion Energy announcements · retrieved 2026-09-07