David Kirtley is a nuclear fusion engineer and CEO of Helion Energy, a company working on building the world’s first commercial fusion power plant by 2028.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep485-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/david-kirtley-transcript

CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

EPISODE LINKS:
David’s X: https://x.com/dekirtley
David’s LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4qX0KXp
Helion: https://www.helionenergy.com/
Helion’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/HelionEnergy

SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
UPLIFT Desk: Standing desks and office ergonomics.
Go to https://upliftdesk.com/lex
Fin: AI agent for customer service.
Go to https://fin.ai/lex
Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform.
Go to https://miro.com/
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling.
Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to https://shopify.com/lex

OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(03:00) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(11:35) – Nuclear fission vs fusion
(21:35) – Physics of E=mc^2
(26:50) – Is nuclear fusion safe?
(32:11) – Chernobyl
(38:38) – Geopolitics
(40:33) – Extreme scenarios
(47:28) – How nuclear fusion works
(1:20:20) – Extreme temperatures
(1:25:21) – Fusion control and simulation
(1:37:15) – Electricity from fusion
(2:11:20) – First fusion power plant in 2028
(2:18:13) – Energy needs of GPU clusters
(2:28:38) – Kardashev scale
(2:36:33) – Fermi Paradox

PODCAST LINKS:
– Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
– Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
– Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
– RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
– Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
– Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

Are You Drifting -- Part 2

Bold Steps with Dr. Mark Jobe

Pay Attention and Hold Firmly to Truth

The AI-powered Podcast Player