Overview
- Thea Energy said it completed a preconceptual design for its Helios power plant and submitted the integrated study to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone‑Based Fusion Development Program on December 15.
- An overview paper was posted as a preprint, with additional manuscripts submitted for peer review, and the company highlighted high‑fidelity simulations run with PPPL and DOE’s NERSC, including use of the M3D‑C1 code.
- The architecture uses arrays of identical high‑temperature superconducting magnets—12 large coils plus 324 smaller coils—controlled individually by software to form a "virtual" stellarator and compensate for manufacturing or assembly errors; Thea reports successful AI‑driven control in benchtop tests.
- The company projects about 1.1 GW of thermal output and roughly 390–400 MW net electricity, targets an 85–88% capacity factor with an 84‑day maintenance outage every two years, and specifies a 20‑tesla coil limit and a 15‑year fusion‑facing first‑wall lifetime.
- The design includes a tokamak‑like X‑point divertor claimed as a first for a stellarator, and Thea plans a demonstration device called Eos with a site announcement expected in 2026 and initial operation targeted around 2030 before pursuing Helios in the 2030s.