Helion, a Washington-based fusion energy company, announced that its Polaris prototype has set new fusion industry benchmarks, becoming the first privately developed fusion energy machine to demonstrate measurable deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion and achieve plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius (MºC). Both milestones mark significant breakthroughs in Helion’s vision to make commercially viable fusion energy a reality and are firsts for the private fusion industry.
“We believe the surest path to commercializing fusion is building, learning and iterating as quickly as possible,” said David Kirtley, co-founder and CEO of Helion. “We’ve built and operated seven prototypes, setting and exceeding more ambitious technical and engineering goals each time. The historic results from our deuterium-tritium testing campaign on Polaris validate our approach to developing high power fusion and the excellence of our engineering.”
In achieving plasma temperatures of 150MºC in Polaris, Helion broke its own commercial fusion industry record for plasma temperatures of 100MºC set by its 6th-generation Trenta prototype. Within the fusion industry, 100MºC is considered the threshold plasma temperature for a commercially relevant fusion machine. Helion will continue to increase plasma temperatures in Polaris to demonstrate that it can reliably operate with deuterium-helium-3, which will be relevant for future Helion commercial operations.
February 13, 2026, Helion Energy: Helion Achieves New Industry-First Fusion Energy Milestones, Accelerating Path to Commercial Fusion | Helion