About
David Kirtley co-founded Helion Energy in 2013 alongside John Slough, Chris Pihl, and George Votroubek to commercialize pulsed magneto-inertial fusion. He earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, where he initially worked on plasma propulsion for spacecraft thrusters before pivoting back to the fusion ambitions that had captivated him as an undergraduate. The four founders met at MSNW in Redmond, Washington, working on plasma physics under contracts with the U.S. Air Force and DARPA. Kirtley now leads a 500-plus team in Everett, Washington racing to deliver the first fusion plant supplying electricity to the grid by 2028, with Microsoft as the anchor customer; Helion has raised over $1B from Sam Altman, Mithril, Capricorn, and others.
Previous roles
- MSNW (plasma physics research)
Notable work
- Pulsed magneto-inertial fusion
- Field-reversed configuration plasma
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