Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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.
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*Transcript:*
lexfridman.com/david-kirtley-transcript
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*EPISODE LINKS:*
David's X: https://x.com/dekirtley
David's LinkedIn: bit.ly/4qX0KXp
Helion: helionenergy.com
Helion's YouTube: youtube.com/HelionEnergy
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*OUTLINE:*
0:00 - Introduction
3:14 - Nuclear fission vs fusion
13:14 - Physics of E=mc^2
18:28 - Is nuclear fusion safe?
23:50 - Chernobyl
30:17 - Geopolitics
32:12 - Extreme scenarios
39:07 - How nuclear fusion works
1:11:59 - Extreme temperatures
1:17:00 - Fusion control and simulation
1:28:54 - Electricity from fusion
2:02:59 - First fusion power plant in 2028
2:09:52 - Energy needs of GPU clusters
2:20:16 - Kardashev scale
2:28:12 - Fermi Paradox
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- Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr
- Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
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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: lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep485-sb
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
*Transcript:*
lexfridman.com/david-kirtley-transcript
*CONTACT LEX:*
*Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: lexfridman.com/survey
*AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: lexfridman.com/ama
*Hiring* - join our team: lexfridman.com/hiring
*Other* - other ways to get in touch: lexfridman.com/contact
*EPISODE LINKS:*
David's X: https://x.com/dekirtley
David's LinkedIn: bit.ly/4qX0KXp
Helion: helionenergy.com
Helion's YouTube: youtube.com/HelionEnergy
*SPONSORS:*
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
*UPLIFT Desk:* Standing desks and office ergonomics.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/uplift_desk-ep485-sb
*Fin:* AI agent for customer service.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/fin-ep485-sb
*Miro:* Online collaborative whiteboard platform.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/miro-ep485-sb
*LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep485-sb
*BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep485-sb
*Shopify:* Sell stuff online.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep485-sb
*OUTLINE:*
0:00 - Introduction
3:14 - Nuclear fission vs fusion
13:14 - Physics of E=mc^2
18:28 - Is nuclear fusion safe?
23:50 - Chernobyl
30:17 - Geopolitics
32:12 - Extreme scenarios
39:07 - How nuclear fusion works
1:11:59 - Extreme temperatures
1:17:00 - Fusion control and simulation
1:28:54 - Electricity from fusion
2:02:59 - First fusion power plant in 2028
2:09:52 - Energy needs of GPU clusters
2:20:16 - Kardashev scale
2:28:12 - Fermi Paradox
*PODCAST LINKS:*
- Podcast Website: lexfridman.com/podcast
- Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr
- Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
- RSS: lexfridman.com/feed/podcast
- Podcast Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
- Clips Channel: youtube.com/lexclips
*SOCIAL LINKS:*
- X: https://x.com/lexfridman
- Instagram: instagram.com/lexfridman
- TikTok: tiktok.com/@lexfridman
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
- Facebook: facebook.com/lexfridman
- Patreon: patreon.com/lexfridman
- Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman
- Reddit: reddit.com/r/lexfridman
