Where is Helion - really?
Startups are started by optimists. Startups are funded by optimists (and/or super high risk takers.) Timelines for optimists are…well , optimistic (and usually about 1/3 to 1/4 the actual time to do something that has never been done before.) Holding their feet to the fire for being optimistic is a waste of time. However, there comes a point when the question needs to be called. It seems like Helion is at or near that point. I appreciate the success they had with their DT campaign. Very impressive. But they have many distractions. The Hercules program is laudable for its purpose but feels poorly timed. Orion is a shell-in-waiting. What the heck is going to go in it so that the ON switch can be flipped in 2 short years? Completing the generator design, lining up manufacturing for many less than off-the-shelf parts, and assembling the device feels monumental within the timeline. I do wish them great success but I’m still a fan of crawl, walk, run. Prove that there is a need for Hercules first. Prove that the knowledge exists to design the generator before building its home. I’m sure the thinking is that doing things serially slows things down. It does. But parallelism is a slowing agent as well if it distracts from efficiently completing the core job. My hope is that Helion hasn’t gotten swept up in startup bravado. It isn’t helpful; thoughtful efficient execution is the only thing that really counts.