What exactly does "net electricity" mean here? Their plan with Polaris is to recover more electromagnetic energy into their capacitors than they put into the fuel, but other demands (cooling etc.) will still make it net negative overall (see for example https://spectrum.ieee.org/fusion). Would it still count for this question if they achieve this?
@JonathanRay I'll look with a skeptical eye, but if it seems the community of fusion researchers isn't highly skeptical, I will believe their press release.
I would want to see that their measurements looked rigorous.
Announcing Helion’s first customer: Microsoft. We expect to start producing electricity in the world’s first fusion power plant by 2028, dramatically shortening the timeline for commercially viable fusion energy.
https://twitter.com/Helion_Energy/status/1656283665398403072?s=20
@JamesBabcock I think Helion's design makes this question even more ambiguous. Their approach is that alpha (He nuclei) radiation pushes back on the magnetic field driving an electric current greater than the one they used to compress plasma. I suspect Net Electricity will only include the current discharged from capacitors and then recharged by the expanding plasma. I'm not sure this is even scientific Q >1 , if it doesn't include other heating of the plasma.