Draft:David Edwin Kirtley
American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur
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David Edwin Kirtley is an American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Helion Energy, a fusion energy company developing magneto-inertial fusion technology. In 2021, Helion announced that its Trenta prototype exceeded 100 million degrees Celsius, making it the first private fusion company to reach this milestone.[1] In May 2023, Helion announced a power purchase agreement with Microsoft to provide fusion-generated electricity, representing the first commercial fusion power agreement.[2]
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Comment: This draft has a title that either has been disambiguated, or will need disambiguation to be accepted.If this draft is accepted, a disambiguation page will need to be created. (Review of the existing article or articles with the principal name indicates that a disambiguation page should be created in place of the use of hatnotes alone.) The disambiguation page should be David Kirtley (disambiguation). Robert McClenon (talk) 00:29, 19 March 2026 (UTC)
- Aerospace engineer
- entrepreneur
David Kirtley | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Edwin Kirtley San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of Michigan (BS, MS, MS, PhD) |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Co-founder and CEO of Helion Energy |
| Title | CEO of Helion Energy |
Early life and education
Kirtley was born in San Jose, California and grew up in a Navy family, moving every three years to locations including Bermuda, Norfolk, Virginia, and New Orleans.[3] He has said that growing up near the flight paths of Space Shuttle launches in Florida sparked his early interest in applied physics and engineering.[4]
Kirtley attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering (2001), a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, a Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (2008).[5] During his graduate studies, he was an NSF, NASA, and DOD fellow and worked as a researcher at the University of Michigan Plasmadynamics Laboratory.[5][6]
Career
After completing his doctorate, Kirtley worked as a research scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory and at NASA Glenn Research Center.[5] In 2008, he joined MSNW LLC in Redmond, Washington, an organization with ties to the University of Washington that researches the use of plasma physics in rocket propulsion, where he served as Principal Investigator and Fusion Lead.[4][6]
In 2013, Kirtley co-founded Helion Energy with John Slough, Chris Pihl, and George Votroubek to develop fusion energy technology for commercial electricity production.[4] The company won the Energy Generation category at the 2013 National Cleantech Open[7] and was accepted into Y Combinator's Summer 2014 batch.[8]
Under Kirtley's leadership, Helion has built several prototype fusion generators. In June 2021, the company announced that its sixth prototype, Trenta, had exceeded 100 million degrees Celsius.[1] In May 2023, Helion announced a power purchase agreement with Microsoft to deliver 50 megawatts of electricity from a fusion plant by 2028, with Constellation Energy serving as power marketer.[2][9] In September 2023, Helion announced an agreement with Nucor Corporation to develop a 500-megawatt fusion power plant.[10] In July 2025, Helion announced it had begun construction on the site of its first power plant in Malaga, Washington.[11]
Personal life
Kirtley lives in the Seattle area. He is a licensed pilot and flies Cessna aircraft. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Nuclear Society, and the American Physical Society.[3]
Research and patents
Kirtley has authored numerous publications and patents related to fusion energy, plasma physics, and space propulsion systems.[12]
Notable patents assigned to Helion Energy with Kirtley as an inventor include methods for advanced fuel cycles in fusion reactors, including the use of deuterium-helium-3 (D-³He) reactions with self-supplied helium-3 produced from tritium decay (US11469003B2).[13] He has also been granted patents related to magnetic field systems for plasma confinement and direct energy conversion from fusion plasmas.[14]
He has presented research at scientific conferences including the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting and the Journal of Plasma Physics Frontiers of Plasma Physics Colloquium.[14][15]