US Commerce Department plans $389 million for chip research
Helion, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Vertical Semiconductor and Sibelco would receive funding conditional on minority, non-voting government stakes.
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Helion, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Vertical Semiconductor and Sibelco would receive funding conditional on minority, non-voting government stakes.
The US Commerce Department said on 22 October that it plans to award $389 million to four companies researching power semiconductors and critical materials. Helion says its proposed $175 million share would support manufacturing in Washington State and semiconductor development in Vermont.
Commerce has signed letters of intent, not finalized the awards. The proposals follow 19 semiconductor research and development grants awarded in recent months from a $10 billion fund approved by Congress in 2022.
TechCrunch reported on 22 October that the proposed funding would help Helion build automated semiconductor-module production, packaging and testing capacity in Washington State to supply its fusion machine under construction. Packaging connects and protects semiconductor devices so they can operate as part of a larger system.
Helion co-founder and CEO David Kirtley told TechCrunch that the work in Vermont would involve advanced semiconductor tooling, design and process development with GlobalFoundries. He described the planned research spending as follows:
| Location | Planned spending | Research |
|---|---|---|
| Washington State |
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| More than $100 million |
| Semiconductors and advanced packaging |
| Vermont | Approximately $80 million | Advanced semiconductor tooling, design and process development with GlobalFoundries |
Helion also announced a separate $50 million private investment without identifying the investor.
Helion is developing a fusion system designed to recover electricity directly, rather than using fusion heat to make steam that drives a turbine. In its design, expanding plasma—a hot, electrically charged gas—pushes against a magnetic field. Magnets and capacitors capture that energy as electricity.
Power electronics control the electricity flowing into and out of the system. TechCrunch reported that the current devices lose about 5% to 10% of the electricity passing through them, and that those losses can compound within Helion’s system. Kirtley said modern semiconductors enable its high-speed electricity recovery.
If we can cut that loss in half, that’s actually twice the power output of the fusion system.
Power semiconductors are electronic devices that handle electrical power. Three proposed awards concern these devices and related electronics; the fourth concerns purification of quartz used in the semiconductor supply chain.
| Company | Maximum proposed award | Planned research |
|---|---|---|
| Helion | $175 million | High-voltage power semiconductors and advanced energy power modules for fusion generation. The devices would supply power to, and recover energy from, the magnets driving Helion’s fusion generators. |
| Commonwealth Fusion Systems | $85 million | Semiconductors for heating plasma with radio waves, power electronics, instruments to monitor fusion systems, and electronics designed to withstand radiation. |
| Vertical Semiconductor | $73 million | Vertical power semiconductors made from gallium nitride for artificial intelligence (AI) data-centre racks, according to Commerce. |
| Sibelco | $56 million | Next-generation purification methods for ultra-high-purity quartz used in the semiconductor supply chain. |
Commerce said funding would be conditional on the government receiving minority, non-controlling and non-voting equity stakes—ownership shares without control or voting rights. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the awards would accelerate US semiconductor innovation and strengthen domestic energy and power resources.
Federal contract negotiations still lie ahead and can take months, TechCrunch reported. Kirtley acknowledged that the funded research would not reach Orion, Helion’s first power plant, in time for its planned 2028 launch and deadline to supply Microsoft with electricity. He said the research could instead improve the efficiency of subsequent Helion plants and make them more competitive in electricity markets.
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