David Kirtley

Recent appearances

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  Helion CEO David Kirtley on why fusion finally works

  September 29, 2026 · 📺 Summation with Auren Hoffman

  David Kirtley is the co-founder and CEO of Helion Energy, the fusion company. Helion has raised more than $1.5 billion at a $15.5 billion valuation, and Sam Altman is its biggest investor and former chairman. Before fusion, David worked on rocket and space propulsion. ---------------------------- 0:00 - Introduction & David Kirtley's Background 0:45 - Recreating Star-Level Fusion in Washington State 1:08 - Reaching 150 Million Degrees Celsius (Hotter Than the Sun) 1:51 - How High-Power Electromagnets & Plasma Confinement Work 3:26 - Why Modern Fusion Depends on Semiconductor Innovation & Moore…

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  David Kirtley, Founder & CEO of Helion Energy

  January 07, 2026 · 📺 The Social Radars Podcast

  Listen to full episodes of The Social Radars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: https://pod.link/1677066062 In today's episode we talk to the founder of a startup that will have momentous consequences for the whole world if it works: David Kirtley, Founder & CEO of Helion Energy, who is building an actual fusion power plant. Fusion has always been something that was 20 years in the future. Not anymore. The new Helion model, which they're constructing right now, is going to achieve net electricity production.

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  Nuclear fusion for space travel: Future of propulsion? | David Kirtley and Lex Fridman

  November 21, 2025 · 📺 Lex Clips

  Lex Fridman Podcast full episode:    • David Kirtley: Nuclear Fusion, Plasma Phys...   Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/cv947... See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. GUEST BIO: David Kirtley is a nuclear fusion engineer and CEO of Helion Energy, a company working on building the world's first commercial fusion power plant by 2028. CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our…

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  How nuclear fusion power plants work | David Kirtley and Lex Fridman

  November 20, 2025 · 📺 Lex Clips

  Lex Fridman Podcast full episode:    • David Kirtley: Nuclear Fusion, Plasma Phys...   Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/cv946... See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. GUEST BIO: David Kirtley is a nuclear fusion engineer and CEO of Helion Energy, a company working on building the world's first commercial fusion power plant by 2028. CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our…

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  Timeline for nuclear fusion: First power plant in 2028 | David Kirtley and Lex Fridman

  November 19, 2025 · 📺 Lex Clips

  Lex Fridman Podcast full episode:    • David Kirtley: Nuclear Fusion, Plasma Phys...   Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/cv946... See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. GUEST BIO: David Kirtley is a nuclear fusion engineer and CEO of Helion Energy, a company working on building the world's first commercial fusion power plant by 2028. CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our…

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  David Kirtley: Nuclear Fusion, Plasma Physics, and the Future of Energy | Lex Fridman Podcast #485

  November 17, 2025 · 📺 Lex Fridman

  David Kirtley is a nuclear fusion engineer and CEO of Helion Energy, a company working on building the world's first commercial fusion power plant by 2028. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep485-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/david-kirtley-... CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Ot…

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  INSIDE HELION | A NEW SOURCE OF ENERGY

  November 04, 2025 · 📺 Modern Day Eratosthenes

  I recently traveled to Everett, Washington to interview Helion founder and CEO Dr. David Kirtley to learn more about their unique approach to renewable energy and nuclear fusion Topics: Fission vs. Fusion Renewable Energy The Electrical Grid Solar Power (...and more!) This INSIDE series explores laboratories and research facilities across the United States to see how for every problem in the world, someone is trying to solve it. Host - Ashley Christine Researcher - Cody Serino Editor - JonMichael Pereira Location - ‪@HelionEnergy‬ Instagram:   / modernday_eratosthenes   TikTok:   / moder…

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  David Kirtley, Co Founder + CEO at Helion Energy Joins NYSE TV Live

  March 26, 2025 · 📺 New York Stock Exchange

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  Helion’s Fusion Timeline: First Electrons by 2028?

  February 13, 2025 · 📺 This Week in Startups Clips

  Is fusion power finally within reach? Jason & Alex sit down with David Kirtley, CEO of Helion Energy, to talk about the race to commercial fusion—and Microsoft’s high-stakes bet. Helion’s goal? First electrons by 2028, using a revolutionary approach that skips steam turbines and generates electricity directly from plasma. Their 7th-gen prototype is live in Everett, WA, and they’ve signed a power deal with Microsoft—with serious penalties if they miss their deadline. Could fusion be powering data centers by 2030? Microsoft thinks it’s coming sooner than you’d expect. Northwest Registered Agent…

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  The theory behind Helion's direct energy recovery system

  December 06, 2024 · 📺 Helion

  Helion CEO, David Kirtley, highlights the foundational theory behind magnetic energy recovery—a key differentiator in Helion's approach to scaling fusion electricity production. This was presented at the Fall 2024 meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) in Atlanta, Georgia. Presentation title: Fundamental theory of the direct magnetic energy recovery in a thermonuclear field reversed configuration system Presented by: David Kirtley About Helion Helion is a fusion energy company building the world’s first fusion power plant. Its mission is to fully sa…

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  David Kirtley, CEO and Co-Founder of Helion, on the future of sustainable energy

  November 14, 2023 · 📺 Microsoft

  Helion is building the world’s first fusion power plant, and co-founder and CEO David Kirtley is on a mission to improve access to clean energy for a better future. We’re inspired by the work that they’re doing—in fact, Microsoft recently announced that Helion is going to provide the company fusion power starting in 2028. In this episode, Kevin and David discuss David’s early childhood and how he got interested in science, how he got into the field of fusion, his current role at Helion and how the company is building fusion generators to create zero-carbon electricity.   Also check us out at…

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  VID 20220529 2104061 = HELION ENERGY VIDEO OF DAVID KIRTLEY-CEO

  May 29, 2022 · 📺 FELIX JR SAN BUENAVENTURA

  THIS VIDEO TAKEN FROM HELION ENERGY CEO-DAVID KIRTLEY DISCUSSION OF HIS COMPANY'S FUSION ENERGY OPERATION USING FRC (i.e. FIELD REVERSE CONFIGURATION] SCHEME OF PULSE MAGNETIC METHOD OF DIRECT POWER CONVERSION, MAY BE TAKEN ON 2020 YEAR.

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