US proposes $389 million for fusion power electronics, vertical GaN and quartz
Image: Helion
Four proposed US research awards worth up to $389 million cover semiconductor technologies with very different jobs: switching pulsed fusion systems, heating plasma, supplying computing racks and producing the quartz used in chip manufacturing.
Helion would receive the largest award, at up to $175 million. Its fusion equipment repeatedly switches high peak currents and recovers energy from the magnets driving the system, placing demanding requirements on the power semiconductors and their packaging.
“Building fusion power plants at scale requires us to accelerate the development of technologies like semiconductors that are critical to making fusion possible,” said chief executive David Kirtley.
The company says $50 million of private investment would accompany the federal funding. More than $100 million of the combined programme would support semiconductor and advanced-packaging R&D in Everett, Washington. Approximately $80 million would support tooling, design and process development with a partner in Burlington, Vermont, with further work on packaging and manufacturing automation.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ proposed $85 million programme covers RF devices for plasma heating, power electronics, embedded diagnostics and electronics designed to withstand radiation. Vertical Semiconductor would receive up to $73 million to advance vertical GaN power devices, including a planned demonstration associated with a 2.5 MW computing rack.
The fourth recipient, Sibelco, addresses the materials further upstream. Its proposed $56 million award would support purification and finishing technologies for ultra-high-purity quartz used in crystal-growth crucibles, processing glassware and other semiconductor-production equipment.
The Department of Commerce has signed letters of intent with the companies. Final awards would give the US government minority, non-controlling, non-voting equity interests as a condition of the funding.
