Helion Energy, a startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's venture capital arm, has started construction on a site for a planned nuclear fusion power plant that will supply power to Microsoft data centers by 2028,

Nuclear fusion energy is one step closer to becoming a reality after Helion Energy broke ground Wednesday on what could become the world's first commercial fusion power plant. Construction in Washington state comes after Helion raised $1 billion for its nuclear fusion plant and signed an agreement to provide electricity to Microsoft by 2028.

US-based fusion energy company Helion has announced the start of construction on the site of its new fusion power plant, Orion, in Malaga, Washington. The development follows an environmental review process that concluded with a mitigated determination of non-significance (MDNS) under the State Environmental Policy Act.