Nucor and Helion to Develop Historic 500 MW Fusion Power Plant

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced a collaboration with fusion power company, Helion to develop a 500 MW fusion power plant. This transformational project will offer baseload zero-carbon electricity from fusion directly to a Nucor steelmaking facility. Nucor and Helion are working together to set a firm timeline and are committed to beginning operations as soon as possible with a target of 2030. Nucor is making a direct investment of $35 million in Helion to accelerate fusion deployment in the United States. This is the first fusion energy agreement of this scale in the world and will pave the way for decarbonizing the entire industrial sector.

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"Nucor continues to position itself as a leader in developing clean energy solutions to decarbonize the industrial sector. This agreement with Helion, along with recent investments in clean energy, can change the entire energy landscape and forever change the world, embracing a clean energy future we could have hardly imagined a few years ago," said Leon Topalian, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation. "We believe in the technology Helion is building and are proud to make this investment."  

Helion, with a history of innovation in fusion technology, has already achieved remarkable milestones, including the construction of six working fusion prototypes and being the world's first private fusion company to achieve 100-million-degree plasma temperatures. Currently, the company is building its seventh prototype, Polaris, which is expected to be the first to demonstrate electricity generated from fusion.

"We're passionate about helping the world reduce its dependence on carbon-based energy sources with abundant, clean fusion power," said David Kirtley, CEO of Helion. "We are proud to have investment from Nucor and to have the opportunity to work together on this project. Their commitment to providing their customers with the lowest embodied carbon steel and steel products available makes them a great fit for deploying 500 MWe of fusion power."

With its recycling-based production method, Nucor is already one of the cleanest steelmakers in the world. The circular nature of recycling scrap in electric arc furnaces means that Nucor's steel mills have a greenhouse gas emissions intensity that is three times lower than the average extractive blast furnace steelmaking plants. Further, Nucor was the first major industrial company to join the UN 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, which is aimed at accelerating the decarbonization of the world's electricity systems and ensuring access to clean and affordable electricity.

About Nucor

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products, with operating facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel racking; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; precision castings; steel fasteners; metal building systems; insulated metal panels; overhead doors; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company and its affiliates, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and hot briquetted iron / direct reduced iron; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which we expect will or may occur in the future and may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. The words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "project," "may," "will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's best judgment based on current information, and, although we base these statements on circumstances that we believe to be reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future events will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking information. As such, the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may vary materially from the projected results and expectations discussed in this news release. Factors that might cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including pressure from imports and substitute materials; (2) U.S. and foreign trade policies affecting steel imports or exports; (3) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to general market conditions, and in particular, prevailing market steel prices and changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including pig iron, iron ore and scrap steel; (4) the availability and cost of electricity and natural gas, which could negatively affect our cost of steel production or result in a delay or cancellation of existing or future drilling within our natural gas drilling programs; (5) critical equipment failures and business interruptions; (6) market demand for steel products, which, in the case of many of our products, is driven by the level of nonresidential construction activity in the United States; (7) impairment in the recorded value of inventory, equity investments, fixed assets, goodwill or other long-lived assets; (8) uncertainties and volatility surrounding the global economy, including excess world capacity for steel production, inflation and interest rate changes; (9) fluctuations in currency conversion rates; (10) significant changes in laws or government regulations affecting environmental compliance, including legislation and regulations that result in greater regulation of greenhouse gas emissions that could increase our energy costs, capital expenditures and operating costs or cause one or more of our permits to be revoked or make it more difficult to obtain permit modifications; (11) the cyclical nature of the steel industry; (12) capital investments and their impact on our performance; (13) our safety performance; (14) our ability to integrate businesses we acquire; and (15) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, any variants of the virus, and any other similar pandemic or public health situation. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of Nucor's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date, and Nucor does not assume any obligation to update them, except as may be required by applicable law.

SOURCE Nucor Corporation