General Fusion hits 1.1 keV; Helical Fusion closes its Series B round
From the Energy digest for 2026-10-10
What happened: General Fusion (Canada, MTF): measured electron temperature ~1.1 keV (~12.6M °C) via Thomson scattering just prior to peak compression on the LM26 program — billed as a world-first for the approach, co-authored/co-developed with UKAEA (Oct 8, ANS + release). Helical Fusion (Japan): Series B second close, ¥3.23B (~$22M) — Fuji Electric as strategic investor/partner, Fujikura and Tokyo Gas joining; Helix HARUKA construction advancing (Oct 8–9).
What's genuinely new: two national fusion lanes posting tangible progress in 48 hours — a quantified plasma milestone on the MTF path (the fusion-record genre's first Thomson-scattering-certified 1 keV claim we've captured) and Japan's public-private stellarator lane gaining an industrial-equipment giant as an investor. Both vendor-graded; Thomson scattering is the "industry-recognized diagnostic" framing, which is more than most milestone claims carry.
Watch: LM26's compression-result claim (next milestone), HARUKA's schedule, whether the DOE milestone program adds more names (Xcimer's $30.5M recorded Oct 6).
Links: ANS (Oct 8–9) · Helical Fusion release (feed)