Thea Energy is the first awardee in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program to complete its design review for a fusion pilot plant
This milestone certification follows a detailed review by a panel of independent experts confirming the physics and engineering basis of the Helios design, and its feasibility to put fusion energy on the grid
KEARNY, N.J., Jan. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thea Energy, Inc., a fusion technology company advancing the stellarator for the commercialization of a carbon-free and abundant source of energy, today announced the certification of its preconceptual “Helios” pilot plant design by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) following a detailed review by a panel of independent fusion experts. This preconceptual design review marks the completion of the final major milestone in the DOE’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program (“the Milestone Program”) and Thea Energy is the first awardee company to receive certification of its pilot plant design.
The Milestone Program launched with $46 million in funding across eight private fusion companies to support progress on the path to commercial power plants. Modeled after the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, essential in launching the private space industry, the Milestone Program supports companies focused on grid-scale power through non-dilutive capital and external validation, where funds are only paid when key milestones that de-risk fusion technologies are completed and approved by a review panel.
The U.S. DOE approved completion of the Helios preconceptual design following a detailed report review by independent experts from national laboratories, research institutions, and universities focused on fusion. Members of the DOE review team visited Thea Energy’s headquarters in Kearny, NJ as part of the certification. Reviewers focused on comprehensively validating that the Company has a system architecture and a robust path towards deploying a fusion power plant. Other disclosed milestones completed by Thea Energy since selection in 2023 include successful performance of the world’s first superconducting planar coil magnet array and the down selection to a family of stellarator plasma configurations.
“This final design milestone, now certified by the DOE, substantiates the validity of the planar coil stellarator and shows a clear pathway to a deployable power plant,” said Brian Berzin, co-founder and chief executive officer of Thea Energy. “Practicality, conservatism, and engineering margins are emphasized in Helios, and the DOE has recognized those differentiators in this design. The Helios preconceptual design reflects decades of specialized expertise, now vetted and confirmed by fusion leaders and foremost technical authorities. This significant approval allows us to definitively communicate confidence in this design to the interested power offtakers and hyperscalers that we are in conversations with. Working with the DOE across this milestone, and eight prior, ensured team Thea approached each cornerstone with rigor, scrutiny, and thoroughness. Now is the time to prioritize fusion and the teams driving meaningful progress, and we strongly support the expansion of the Milestone Program to align with the industry’s commercialization goals.”
“Overview of the Helios Design: A Practical Planar Coil Stellarator Fusion Power Plant” outlines how the Helios preconceptual design meets all requirements for a commercial fusion plant while detailing several world’s firsts for fusion: a system that combines software-controlled magnet coils that are adaptable to real-world conditions; a stellarator ‘divertor’ exhaust system capable of fusion power operations; and a stellarator sector-based maintenance scheme enabling long-term plant viability. This preprint is available on the Company’s website under “Presentations & Publications” and via arXiv. This paper was submitted to a peer-reviewed journal alongside additional manuscripts on specific system components further detailed in the Milestone Program report to the DOE.
Jean Paul Allain, Ph.D., associate director for fusion energy sciences in the DOE Office of Science, added, “The inaugural period of the Milestone Program’s goal is to see companies demonstrate critical underlying technologies while on the path to a preconceptual fusion pilot plant design. Thea Energy tackled key milestones swiftly and enthusiastically leading to this in-depth design for a modernized stellarator system – summarized in a 200-page report to the DOE. The Milestone Program mandates a heightened level of accountability from awardees and we look forward to seeing Thea Energy’s continued momentum.”
Felix Parra-Diaz, Ph.D., head of the theory department at the U.S. DOE’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and professor of astrophysical science at Princeton University, added, “As a member of the expert review committee, I had the chance to dive deep into Thea Energy’s Helios plant and verify that the Company had executed on this design with a remarkable degree of technical detail and high standards. Helios represents a new era for the stellarator where this magnet array and plant design pushes fusion towards a commercial format. I look forward to seeing the Company continue to work towards building a fusion power plant.”
Thea Energy is on track to operate Helios in the 2030s following “Eos”, its large-scale demonstration system which will create power-plant-relevant, steady-state fusion. Eos will directly benefit from the breakthroughs highlighted in the Company’s Helios design and is scheduled to be online by 2030. Thea Energy is currently in conversations with five states for the siting of Eos and expects to select and announce a location for the integrated system in 2026.
About Thea Energy, Inc.
Thea Energy, Inc. is building an economical and scalable fusion energy system utilizing arrays of mass-manufacturable magnets and dynamic software controls. Commercial fusion energy can uniquely provide an abundant source of zero-emission power for a sustainable future. Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in computation and controls to reinvent the stellarator, a scientifically mature form of magnetic fusion technology. Thea Energy was founded in 2022 as a spin-out of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Princeton University, where the stellarator was originally invented. The Company was selected as an inaugural awardee of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program following a detailed merit review process and is also supported via six INFUSE awards. Thea Energy is currently designing its first integrated fusion system, Eos, based on its planar coil stellarator architecture, which will produce fusion neutrons at scale and in steady state. To learn more about Thea Energy’s mission, visit https://thea.energy/ and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
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