Helicity Space<\/a> has closed a $5 million seed funding to accelerate development of a technology that could finally unlock fast, efficient travel in deep space.<\/p>\nThat technology is fusion propulsion, which has long been the domain of science fiction. The startup says that they have discovered a way to use plasma jets for fusion reaction. The project is the brainchild of plasma physicist and Helicity cofounder Setthivoine You; he and the other two cofounders, CEO and former banker Stephane Lintner and former Boeing-Rocketdyne executive Marta Calvo formalized the business in 2018.<\/p>\n
Helicity spent several years in stealth, \u201cdotting the i\u2019s and crossing the t\u2019s in terms of what we could do,\u201d Lintner explained in a recent interview. \u201cFusion is a tainted field and we had to really be certain first before raising VC capital that we were ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pasadena-based company managed to attract funding from a notable group: Airbus Ventures, the VC arm of the major European aerospace giant; TRE Advisors; Voyager Space Holdings, which is behind the Starlab commercial space station; European space firm E2MC Space; Urania Ventures and Gaingels.<\/p>\n
Helicity\u2019s main differentiator, according to Lintner, is that they are squarely focused on fusion propulsion, rather than fusion for terrestrial applications. \u201cEverything we do is about pushing a spaceship forward and not generating sustainable grid power,\u201d eh explained. In some ways, the former problem is easier than the latter: space is a wonderful vacuum, and that\u2019s exactly the environment that plasma jets require.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur concept is uniquely adapted to be useful in space first,\u201d he said. \u201cOver time [\u2026] our things could turn into reactors on Earth too, but by then others have probably solved that. That\u2019s not our primary goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The startup\u2019s technology rests on a method called magneto-intertial fusion, which compresses stable plasma jets with a magnetic nozzle. The plasma is heated up to hundreds of millions of degrees and generates a fusion reaction that pushes on the spaceship, propelling it forward.<\/p>\n
The startup plans to use the funding to produce a proof-of-concept fusion drive that will demonstrate the fundamental technology at a small scale. On the longer scale, Helicity is looking to have a full prototype flying in space in around 10 years.<\/p>\n
Lintner was upfront about the fact that there\u2019s still a lot to de-risk, and much still to learn about the emerging market for fusion drives.<\/p>\n
\u201clook, it\u2019s very early stage,\u201d he said. \u201cAs the economy develops in space, our engines are going to become more and more important. The final business model is still a little harder to predict.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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