Payload reports that Seattle based Interlune, a space resources company, on May 7 inked a deal with its first customer Maybell Quantum to purchase thousands of liters of Helium-3 (He-3) sourced on the Moon. Interlune has developed an innovative excavator that will gather lunar regolith, process it and separate out He-3 for return to Earth. The company plans to launch a prototype of their equipment to the Moon in 2027, establish a pilot production plant by 2029, and deliver thousands of liters of He-3 to Maybell, a cutting edge quantum computing infrastructure company, for annual deliveries through 2035.
On the same day, Interlune entered in to a purchase agreement with the Department of Energy Isotope Program to deliver 3 liters of He-3 no later then 2029. The DOE IP utilizes He-3 primarily for scientific research, neutron detection, and cryogenic applications that support its mission to produce and distribute isotopes for research, medical, industrial, and national security purposes.
What’s the market for He-3? In 2023, the global He-3 market was valued at approximately USD 178.68 million, with projections to reach USD 224.59 million by 2031, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 2.9% (2024–2031). Currently, He-3 has applications in medical imaging, neutron detection in border security, cryogenics and quantum computing; and of course aneutronic nuclear fusion research. This latter application has been touted for decades as a huge potential market for mining He-3 on the Moon as it is extremely scarce on Earth, with most supplies derived from tritium decay in nuclear weapon stockpiles, mainly in the U.S. and Russia. The going rate for Helium-3 is about $20M per kilogram.
Aneutronic fusion produces minimal neutrons as byproducts. This is advantageous because it reduces radioactive waste, simplifies reactor design, and allows for direct energy conversion (DEC). This method of generating power works by capturing the kinetic energy of the positively charged protons in the plasma, converting it directly into electricity using electromagnetic fields without the need for steam turbines. The most common He-3 fusion reaction is deuterium-Helium-3 (D-He-3), where deuterium (D, a hydrogen isotope) fuses with He-3 to produce a Helium-4 nucleus and a high-energy proton, releasing approximately 18.4 MeV of energy.
The current front runner using this approach is Everett Washington startup Helion Energy targeting commercial power generation by 2028. Their modular generators (roughly the size of a shipping container) are designed to power data centers or industrial facilities at a projected cost of ~1 cent per kWh. Helion signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Microsoft in May 2023 to deliver at least 50 MW of fusion power by 2028. They are also collaborating with Nucor, a North American steel products company, to build a fusion power plant on one of its steel mill sites in the United States.
Helion uses a pulsed non-ignition magneto-inertial fusion system called a Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC). Two FRC plasmoids (doughnut-shaped quasi-stable plasma structures) containing D-He-3 fuel are accelerated toward each other at over 1 million mph using magnetic fields, collide, and are compressed to fusion conditions (>100 million °C). Energy is extracted inductively as the plasma expands via DEC.
Achieving and maintaining 100 million °C will be extremely challenging. Some experts doubt Helion’s 2028 timeline, citing the difficulty of achieving net energy gain (Helion has not yet achieved engineering breakeven). This is why Interlune is focusing on more near term markets such as Maybell’s dilution refrigerators to provide cryogenic cooling for quantum computing customers.
Executing Interlune’s business plan will be difficult as all components in the supply chain provided by commercial partners need to work in concert like a well oiled machine. Launch vehicles will have to transport the excavators to lunar orbit and landers (still in development) need to deliver the equipment to the surface. After the He-3 is processed and stockpiled, a return craft will have to launch it back into space, return it to Earth, and reenter the atmosphere safely to deliver the cargo back home for distribution to customers.
On the bright side, if the company can secure a reliable supply chain for He-3 other potential customers with applications such as fusion propulsion for rapid transit throughout the solar system are gradually progressing toward technology readiness. Princeton Satellite Systems in New Jersey is close to developing a Direct Fusion Drive using their own FRC reactor design. The system is based on over 15 years of research at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)
According to the company’s website, once the support infrastructure is in place, “… Interlune will harvest other resources such as industrial metals, rare Earth elements, and water to support a long-term presence on the Moon and a robust in-space economy.”