Helicity space Closed $5 million in seed funding to accelerate development of technology that could finally unleash fast, efficient deep space travel.
This technology is fusion propulsion, which has long been the domain of science fiction. The startup says it has discovered a way to use plasma jets in a fusion reaction. The project is the brainchild of plasma physicist and Helicity co-founder Setthivoine You; He and the other two co-founders, CEO and former banker Stefan Lintner and former Boeing-Rocketdyne CEO Marta Calvo, formalized the business in 2018.
Helicity has spent several years in stealth, “dotting the dots and crossing the dots in terms of what we can do,” Lintner explained in a recent interview. “Merger is a polluted area and we had to be sure first before raising VC capital that we were ready for it.”
The Pasadena-based company has managed to attract funding from a prominent group: Airbus Ventures, the venture capital arm of the major European airline giant; TRE Consultants; Voyager Space Holdings, which is behind the Starlab commercial space station; Space company E2MC Space; Urania Ventures and Jingles.
Helicity’s main differentiator, according to Lintner, is that it is focused squarely on fusion propulsion, rather than fusion in terrestrial applications. “Everything we do is about moving the spaceship forward, not generating sustainable grid power,” he explained. In some ways, the first problem is easier than the second: space is a wonderful vacuum, and this is exactly the environment that plasma jets require.
“Our concept is uniquely adapted to be useful in space first,” he said. “over time […] Our stuff could turn into reactors on Earth too, but by then others may have solved that problem. “This is not our primary goal.”
The startup’s technology is based on a method called inertial magnetic fusion, which compresses stable plasma jets with a magnetic nozzle. The plasma is heated to hundreds of millions of degrees and generates a fusion reaction that propels the spaceship and propels it forward.
The startup plans to use the funding to produce a proof-of-concept integration campaign that will demonstrate the underlying technology on a small scale. In the longer term, Helicity is looking to have a full prototype flying in space within about 10 years.
Lintner has been frank about the fact that there is still a lot of risk to be avoided, and there is still a lot to learn about the emerging market for nuclear fusion engines.
“Look, it’s a very early stage,” he said. “As the space economy develops, our engines will become more important. The ultimate business model is still a little difficult to predict.