OpenAI Negotiates Helion Fusion Power Deal
▼ Summary
– OpenAI is in advanced talks to purchase a massive amount of electricity from nuclear fusion startup Helion Energy, starting with 5 gigawatts by 2030 and scaling to 50 gigawatts by 2035.
– Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and Helion’s largest individual investor, has stepped down from Helion’s board and recused himself from the deal talks to avoid a conflict of interest.
– Helion’s proposed deal with OpenAI represents a huge scale-up from its existing commitments, which include a 50-megawatt agreement with Microsoft and a planned 500-megawatt plant.
– Helion uses a unique fusion approach that directly converts energy to electricity with deuterium and helium-3 fuel, claiming it produces no long-lived radioactive waste.
– The potential agreement depends on many unfulfilled conditions, including Helion successfully demonstrating net electricity production, which it has not yet achieved.
A potential agreement between OpenAI and Helion Energy could see the AI leader securing a massive supply of fusion power by the end of the decade. According to a report, the companies are discussing a framework where OpenAI would receive 5 gigawatts of electricity from Helion by 2030, scaling to a staggering 50 gigawatts by 2035. The initial guarantee would cover over twelve percent of Helion’s projected output.
To appreciate the scale, Helion’s current commercial commitments are far smaller. Its landmark 2023 agreement with Microsoft, the world’s first commercial fusion power purchase agreement, is for 50 megawatts. Another project with steelmaker Nucor aims for 500 megawatts in the 2030s. The OpenAI deal would mark a dramatic leap into gigawatt-scale procurement. Given that each Helion reactor is designed to generate about 50 megawatts, supplying 5 gigawatts by 2030 would require roughly 100 operational reactors.
These discussions are reportedly in early stages, with numerous conditions still unresolved, including the selection of a power production site. OpenAI has declined to comment on the negotiations.
A significant aspect of the story involves conflict of interest protocols. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, is Helion’s largest individual investor, having led a $500 million funding round in 2021 and served as board chair since 2015. His personal stake is estimated at approximately $375 million. According to the report, Altman has now completely stepped down from Helion’s board and recused himself from the deal talks with OpenAI.
This move follows a clear precedent. Last year, Altman resigned as board chair of nuclear fission startup Oklo to avoid similar conflicts and enable potential energy agreements between Oklo and OpenAI. The governance question is familiar; it arose in 2023 when Microsoft, a major OpenAI investor, signed its power purchase agreement with Helion while Altman held leadership roles on both sides. OpenAI’s board previously stated Altman had been transparent about his investments, but the formal recusal now suggests a more structured approach to potential conflicts.
Founded in 2013 and based in Everett, Washington, Helion has raised over $1 billion in total funding. A $425 million Series F round in early 2025 valued the company at $5.425 billion. The startup achieved a major technical milestone in early 2026, reaching a plasma temperature of 150 million degrees Celsius, surpassing its previous record.
Helion’s technology stands apart in the fusion sector. Instead of using heat to drive a steam turbine, its design uses magnetic fields to directly convert fusion energy into electricity, a method it claims is more efficient. The company uses deuterium and helium-3 fuel, stating its process generates no long-lived radioactive waste. Competitors like Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which has a power purchase agreement with Google, are pursuing different, tokamak-based approaches.
Whether this framework becomes a finalized contract hinges on many factors, most critically Helion’s ability to achieve net electricity production, a feat yet to be demonstrated at commercial scale.
(Source: The Next Web)
