Helion announces world’s first-ever fusion energy purchase agreement

#1

Helion announces world’s first-ever fusion energy purchase agreement

Helion Energy, a fusion energy company based in Washington State, has announced the world’s first-ever energy purchase agreement for nuclear fusion. The company has promised to deliver energy generated from a nuclear fusion plant to software giant Microsoft by 2028, ramping up to 50MW within one year of operation.

Nuclear fusion has long been considered the Holy Grail of renewable energy, mimicking the process fueling stars to produce near-limitless amounts of clean, emissions-free energy. However, developing the technology to realize this vision has long eluded scientists around the world. Though significant strides have been made in recent years, even ambitious projections still had us at least a decade away (and likely longer) from economically-viable fusion power. The new agreement between Helion and Microsoft dramatically shortens that timeline and offers hope for a powerful tool to combat the climate crisis.

It remains to be seen whether Helion can and will actually deliver upon its promise. Regardless, the historic purchase agreement marks the transition of nuclear fusion from a distant possibility to a perhaps imminent reality.

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#2

Human trial of mRNA universal flu vaccine begins

“A universal influenza vaccine would be a major public health achievement and could eliminate the need for both annual development of seasonal influenza vaccines,” said Dr. Hugh Auchincloss, acting NIAID Director.

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#3

Namibia’s highest court recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other countries

In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court of Namibia has ruled that the government is required to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other nations between citizens and foreign nationals.

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#4

U.S. FDA to end ban on gay & bi men donating blood

The FDA finalized recommendations for determining donor eligibility by using the same questions for everyone who wants to donate, similar to how the U.K., Canada, and France currently determine risk.

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#5

Kansas City declares itself a “sanctuary city” for transgender people

The move comes in response to the state’s Republican-led legislature passing two bills aimed at limiting the rights of transgender Missourians.

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#6

Vermont governor signs 1st-in-nation shield bills that explicitly include medicated abortion

The bills protect providers from discipline for providing legally protected reproductive and gender-affirming health care services.

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#7

Taiwan amends law to allow same-sex couples to adopt

Four years after Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage, the legislature has passed an amendment that makes the process of adoption for same-sex partners the same as for any other couple under Taiwan’s existing laws.

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#8

U.S. FDA approves first-ever vaccine for RSV

After a 60-year scientific quest, the world has its first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV – and more are on the way.

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#9

U.K. researchers develop machine learning algorithm for quickly and accurately predicting heart attacks

Compared to existing methods, the researchers found that CoDE-ACS could rule out a heart attack in more than double the number of patients, with an accuracy of 99.6%.

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#10

Planes in the E.U. will have to be partly powered by sustainable fuel

By 2025, 2% of fuel offered at EU airports must be sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). This must rise to 6% by 2030, 20% by 2035, and 70% of by 2050.

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Remember

Arthur Eddington publishes The Internal Constitution of the Stars correctly speculating about the existence of nuclear fusion (1920 C.E.)

At that time, the source of stellar energy was a complete mystery; Eddington correctly speculated that the source was fusion of hydrogen into helium, liberating enormous energy according to Einstein’s equation E = mc2.

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Imagine

Helion Energy completes and activates the world’s first commercial fusion power plant (2028 C.E.)

The advent of commercially-viable fusion energy marked a historic turning point for the climate crisis, jumpstarting a new era of ubiquity for renewable energy.

Taking a break

I’m heading down to Oregon for our first camping trip of the year this week! All that driving plus tent-sleeping with two little kids should be an adventure… So I’m going to take the week off from this newsletter to get ready for the trip, take care of a few house projects, and stock up on rest. It’ll be back two weeks from today.

In the meantime, I want to invite you again to a free coaching call. This is a chance for you to get support through a challenging decision or stuck point, to get more clarity on what your life is calling you to right now, to tap into your innate creativity and intuition, to look into what might be standing in your way from the you you most yearn to become, and more.

I realize there can be awkwardness to calls like this. It can be hard to share your life with a stranger and many of you aren’t very familiar with coaching as a practice. I totally get the hesitation.

But if you’re at all curious, why not just give it a shot? No charge. No pressure to continue. No hard sell. Just a friendly conversation where we can get to know each other a bit better and where you can perhaps get some insight into how to build a life that you fall more deeply in love with.

Here’s a testimonial that I was really touched to receive from a client this week:

“In the short four one-hour coaching sessions with Peter I have had profound breakthroughs that I have spent years in therapy attempting to gain. I really appreciate the openness and non-judgmental coaching style that he provides; it allowed me to really be open to myself to dig deeper into what I didn’t know I was seeking, which was self-love, clarity, and a sense of self-understanding.”

Peter Schulte

Purpose & Leadership Coach

Founder & Executive Director, Spark of Genius

Bellingham, WA USA / Lummi & Nooksack lands

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