Helion Energy

David Kirtley studied electrical engineering at the University of Texas Dallas and then nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan, where he published his first paper on antimatter-based fusion as an undergraduate. He worked on Hall-effect and plasma thrusters for spacecraft at the Air Force Research Labs and at MSNW in Redmond, Washington — a University of Washington-affiliated plasma physics research organization — before co-founding Helion Energy in 2013. Kirtley and his co-founders collectively accumulated 30 years of fusion experience before launching the company. He leads Helion's field-reversed configuration approach to fusion and has secured a power purchase agreement with Microsoft.

Chris Pihl co-founded Helion Energy in 2013 alongside David Kirtley, George Votroubek, and John Slough, following joint work at MSNW in Redmond, Washington, where the team developed plasma physics and propulsion applications. As CTO, Pihl leads Helion's engineering development, including the design and testing of the company's field-reversed configuration plasma devices. He holds advanced degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, contributing deep expertise in plasma confinement, magnet design, and pulsed power systems to Helion's fusion energy program.

George Votroubek co-founded Helion Energy in 2013 and serves as Principal Scientist, drawing on his background in plasma physics and astrophysics. He was part of the core research group at MSNW in Redmond, Washington before co-founding Helion, contributing to the experimental and theoretical fusion work that became the basis for Helion's commercial program. Votroubek's scientific leadership has informed the plasma heating, compression, and energy capture cycle at the heart of Helion's field-reversed configuration fusion approach, which is now being tested in the Polaris device.