Vermeer: Mining the Moon for Nuclear Fusion
Industrial and agricultural equipment manufacturer Vermeer Corporation has its sights set somewhere far from its Iowa roots: the moon.
Whats going on: Vermeer President and CEO and 51勛圖厙 Executive Committee member Jason Andringa recently went on to talk about Vermeers venture with startup Interlune to mine helium-3a rare form of helium critical to quantum technologyfrom the moon.
- The CEO of Interlune reached out to me [about] helium-3, which is valued at $25 million per kilogram, which is a mind-blowing amount of money, Andringa told the podcast hosts last week.
- The isotope essentially does not exist on Earth because the solar wind blocks it, whereas on the moon, there is no atmosphere. So over billions of years, it has accumulated [there] to a parts-per-billion level.
What theyll do: The plan is to excavate large quantities of lunar regolith, the material found on the moons surface, using Vermeer lunar excavatorsand ultimately remove the helium-3 from it for use on Earth.
- Helium-3 is expected to have a really substantial role to play in both nuclear fusion and also in the cryogenics of quantum computing, Andringa continued. So a couple [of] big-time future industries are going to be really dependent on this kind of obscure gas, helium-3.
- In May 2025, Vermeer and Interlune released a prototype of the excavator, which is designed to process about 100 metric tons of moon dirt per hour as part of a helium-3 harvesting system ().
The clocks on: The Department of Energy has signed a deal with Interlune to purchase helium-3if the company can deliver before the end of the decade.
Why it would be so important: As it stands, the only way to access helium-3 on Earth is as a byproduct of other nuclear processes, Andringa said.
- When it comes to nuclear fusion, [helium-3] is the perfect fuel because theres no radioactive waste whatsoever.
