Fusion has long been the holy grail of clean energy — perpetually promising, perpetually out of reach. But dozens of startups are getting closer to harnessing the reactions that power the sun and stars. We go inside two Washington state fusion companies that are leading the charge — Helion Energy and Zap Energy — and breaks down their technologies in a way that doesn't require a degree in physics to understand. 

Between the two, Helion has the swagger. The 13-year-old startup has a charismatic, enthusiastic CEO who signed an unprecedented agreement to sell fusion energy to Microsoft for a data center campus in Central Washington. That deadline is only two years out as Helion leverages a $1.5 billion war chest to become the first company in the world to commercially produce electricity from fusion. 

Zap launched in 2017, but members of its founding team began working on their core technology decades earlier at the University of Washington. The startup has raised $330 million from investors and was selected for a competitive Department of Energy fusion program. Ambitious by the very nature of its work, Zap is also more cautious in its approach. 

This episode explores Helion and Zap’s strategies and each of their recently revealed, unexpected course corrections — moves that either raise concerns or signal smart new approaches. 

Sources and references

Interviews:

• David Kirtley, Helion Energy, CEO and co-founder
• Manav Singh, Helion Energy, director of electrical engineering 
• Matthew Thompson, Zap Energy, senior vice president of fission technology and former vice president of systems engineering and pulsed power
• Laura Berzak Hopkins, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, associate laboratory director for Strategy and Partnerships, and deputy chief research officer

GeekWire’s related coverage:

• Helion gives behind-the-scenes tour of secretive 60-foot fusion prototype as it races to deployment
• Helion makes big bet on ‘Tiny Merge’ fusion testbed to meet aggressive Microsoft timeline
• Inside Zap: Fusion pioneer tries to build ‘a star in a jar’ to unlock abundant clean energy
• Zap Energy’s nuclear double play: Fusion startup adds traditional fission to its lineup, in industry first

This episode was hosted by Lisa Stiffler and Laura Scott, and edited and produced by Laura Scott, with editorial assistance from Todd Bishop. Sponsored by Amazon Sustainability.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can we actually annihilate the toxic "forever chemicals" polluting our water and soil? The debut episode of Positive Charge dives into the Herculean challenge of destroying PFAS — long-lived contaminants linked to serious health effects like cancer and immune suppression. Even the most rugged, pristine corners of Alaska are facing high levels of PFAS groundwater contamination.

Fortunately, a wave of intrepid entrepreneurs are building breakthrough technologies to prove these chemicals aren't as immortal as their name suggests. The episode goes inside two innovative companies tackling the crisis from completely different angles. First, we explore a system that deploys highly portable, shipping-container-sized units to superheat and destroy highly concentrated PFAS stockpiles directly on-site.

Then, the focus shifts to a technology that spun out of a sanitation project funded by Bill Gates. This system utilizes intense thermal "poop briquette" boilers to incinerate diluted PFAS from municipal wastewater while generating clean electricity. Tune in to find out how these real-world solutions might just close a massive global infrastructure gap and protect our environment.

Sources and references

Interviews:

• Brian Pinkard, Aquagga, co-founder and chief technology officer
• Heather Koponen, Fairbanks, Alaska, resident impacted by PFAS
• Stephanie Dotterer, Sedron Technologies, director of strategy
• Meghan Carlo, Sedron Technologies, senior permit manager 

Additional sources:

• Bill Gates drinking water from sewage waste (Gates Notes)
• ‘Forever chemicals’ are eternal no more thanks to a pollution destroying device from Tacoma startup (GeekWire)
• Flush with cash: Washington startup lands up to $500M to deploy facilities treating sewage, dairy waste (GeekWire)
• Alaska Community Action on Toxics
• Toxic-Free Future

This episode was hosted by Lisa Stiffler and Laura Scott, and edited and produced by Laura Scott, with editorial assistance from Todd Bishop. Sponsored by Amazon Sustainability. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can we annihilate the "forever chemicals" in our soil and water? What's the greenest thing you can do with your body after you die? And how do we fix Taylor Swift's jet-fuel PR problem?

Positive Charge by GeekWire is a new podcast about environmental hope, and the people and companies building breakthrough technologies in climate and sustainability. Hosted by GeekWire's Lisa Stiffler and independent audio producer Laura Scott, each episode takes you inside the labs and companies working to save the planet, and out to the wild places they're trying to protect.

Follow now: the first episodes are on the way. Brought to you by Amazon Sustainability.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.