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OpenAI, Helion Discuss Multi-Gigawatt Fusion Power Supply

The talks point to AI’s race to lock down massive clean power for fast-growing data centers.

Polaris is Helion Energy's 7th-generation nuclear fusion prototype, designed to demonstrate the feasibility of generating net electricity from fusion. The machine is a Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) plasma generator, which reaches high temperatures and focuses on a smaller, pulsed, non-thermal approach to achieve commercial power generation. Courtesy: Helion Energy
CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit of government officials, corporate executives, and labor leaders, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo
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Overview

  • Axios reported Monday that OpenAI is negotiating a Helion deal for 12.5% of output equal to about 5 GW by 2030 and 50 GW by 2035.
  • Sam Altman left Helion’s board and said he will recuse himself from talks while keeping a financial stake, a move he and Helion cast as clearing conflict concerns.
  • Helion would not confirm negotiations and said it has no new customer announcements beyond Microsoft and Nucor, including a 2023 Microsoft agreement targeting first power in 2028.
  • If those projections hold, Helion’s 50 MW reactor design would require roughly 800 units by 2030 and thousands more by 2035, showing how steep the manufacturing and buildout curve would be.
  • Helion said in February that its Polaris prototype produced measurable deuterium–tritium fusion at about 150 million °C, and the company has raised over $1 billion to pursue commercial plants.