Some of the most interesting chip money in Washington is going to companies that make fusion machines. The Department of Commerce has signed four letters of intent for up to $389 million in research awards under the CHIPS and Science Act, aimed at power semiconductors and the materials behind them. As ever, “up to” matters. These are letters of intent, not finalized funding agreements, and the figures are ceilings, not payouts.
Who gets what
Helion tops the list at up to $175 million, to develop high-voltage semiconductors and power modules for fusion generators. Commonwealth Fusion Systems could receive up to $85 million for plasma heating, fusion diagnostics and radiation-resistant electronics. Vertical Semiconductor is slated for up to $73 million to advance gallium nitride power semiconductors for advanced computing, including a demonstration aimed at a 2.5-megawatt data center rack. Sibelco could get up to $56 million to develop purification methods for the ultra-high-purity quartz that chipmaking needs.
The awards follow 19 semiconductor research grants issued in recent months under the same program.
Under the hood at Helion
The technical reality is that power electronics is a loss problem. Helion CEO David Kirtley says the company currently loses about 5% to 10% of the electricity flowing through its devices. “If we can cut that loss in half, that’s actually twice the power output of the fusion system,” he told TechCrunch. The expected federal award would be joined by $50 million in private money, for a total of $225 million, and would support semiconductor research, manufacturing and advanced-packaging work in Everett, Washington. TechCrunch reported that the three-year award would pay for a production line in Washington State, the first in the US to make a class of semiconductor used beyond fusion power. It will help build automated module, packaging and testing capacity for the fusion machine now under construction. Kirtley acknowledged that the funded research will not reach Orion in time for its launch.
The government takes a stake
The detail that matters most is the condition attached. The department will take a minority, non-controlling and non-voting equity stake in each company, which Commerce says enhances the return for the US taxpayer. In Helion’s case that would be a $175 million non-voting equity interest.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump Administration is “accelerating American semiconductor innovation to enhance our domestic energy and power resources.” Bill Frauenhofer, who runs semiconductor investment and innovation at the department, said faster domestic work on these technologies will strengthen America’s ability to convert and deliver power for the grid, advanced data centers, defense systems and emerging fusion energy.
The money behind the program
The CHIPS and Science Act, signed by President Joe Biden on August 9, 2022, appropriates $52.7 billion for semiconductors: $39 billion in subsidies for US chip manufacturing, plus 25% investment tax credits for equipment costs, and $13 billion for research and workforce training. These four awards come from the research side. By March 2024, analysts estimated the act had incentivized 25 to 50 potential projects, but those projects were facing delays in receiving grants because of bureaucratic hurdles, shortages of skilled workers and congressional funding deals that cut research provisions of the act by tens of billions of dollars.
Sources
- CHIPS and Science Act
- Department of Commerce Announces Letters of Intent With 4 Companies for $389 Million of R&D Awards to Strengthen America’s Energy Semiconductor Supply Chain
- U.S. Commerce Department Plans Up To $389M for Power Semiconductors Under CHIPS Act: how 7 outlets framed it | NewsCord
Photo: Laura Ockel / Unsplash (Unsplash License)
