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Key Points
- Associate Professor Shreyas Balachandran and Assistant Professor Mehrdad Kiani have been awarded funding from Helion Energy’s HERCULES program to study copper-silver alloys for use in resistive magnet systems, a materials challenge at the center of commercial fusion energy development.
- Their project, called CARMA (Copper-Silver Alloys for Resistive Magnets), is one of 25 funded proposals selected across 20 U.S. and U.K. institutions in Helion’s first round of 2026 HERCULES grants.
- Helion has committed $4 million to this funding round and more than $17 million through 2028. The research aims to develop scalable processing methods for creating nano-structured copper-silver alloys that maintain both high strength and high electrical conductivity—properties essential to building the durable magnet systems fusion power plants require.
- This award marks the second major external research grant for Balachandran since he joined the college in 2025.
Two FAMU-FSU College of Engineering faculty members—Associate Professor Shreyas Balachandran and Assistant Professor Mehrdad Kiani—have been awarded funding from Helion Energy’s HERCULES program to study copper-silver alloys for use in resistive magnet systems, a materials challenge at the center of commercial fusion energy development.
Their project, called CARMA (Copper-Silver Alloys for Resistive Magnets), is one of 25 funded proposals selected across 20 U.S. and U.K. institutions in Helion’s first round of 2026 HERCULES grants.
What Is the Helion HERCULES Program, and Why Does It Matter for Fusion Energy?
Helion Energy’s competitive HERCULES program funds research projects to pursue a materials engineering challenge central to scaling commercial fusion power.
Balachandran and Kiani will study high-strength, high-conductivity copper-silver alloys for use in resistive magnet technology. Their project, titled “Copper-Silver Alloys for Resistive Magnets” and known by the acronym CARMA, is among 25 funded proposals awarded to 20 institutions across the United States and United Kingdom under Helion’s first round of 2026 HERCULES grants. Helion committed $4 million to this funding round, with more than $17 million pledged through 2028.
What Engineering Problem Does the CARMA Project Address?
The challenge at the heart of the CARMA project is a longstanding tension in materials science: strength and electrical conductivity tend to work against each other in metals. For resistive magnets in a fusion device, both properties must be maximized simultaneously. The magnets must withstand enormous electromagnetic forces while carrying current efficiently—under conditions that would degrade conventional copper.
Copper-silver alloys show promise because silver, at the nanoscale, can form structures within the metal matrix that reinforce it without sacrificing conductivity. The CARMA project is designed to develop manufacturing processes capable of producing those nano-structures at scale.
“Copper-silver alloys can resist high forces due to the ability to form nano-structures. In this work, our focus is to develop scalable processing strategies to obtain these nano-structures and keep the conductivity high,” Balachandran explained.
Who Are the Researchers Behind the CARMA Project?
Balachandran, a Florida State University faculty member, holds a joint appointment in the college’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research centers on structure-property-performance relationships in extreme environments, with a focus on metals and alloys for superconducting and resistive magnet systems and advanced fabrication techniques for cryogenic applications.
Kiani is also an FSU faculty member in the joint college’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research focuses on nanoscale processing, advanced characterization and in situ measurements for novel electronic and semiconductor applications.
What Is the HERCULES Program?
The HERCULES program (Helion External Research Collaboration for Universities, Labs, and Enterprise Scientists) was designed to strengthen the technical and industry partnerships required to move fusion energy from first-of-a-kind plants to scalable global deployment, while creating direct opportunities for students and researchers to engage with real-world commercialization challenges.
“The deployment of fusion electricity at scale requires innovation across many domains,” said Michael Hua, senior director of nuclear science at Helion. “Through HERCULES, we’re partnering with world-class researchers to solve some of the most demanding engineering challenges in energy. The more people and programs we have working on these problems, the faster we get to globally deployed fusion energy.”
How Does This Grant Fit Into the College’s Broader Research Momentum?
The HERCULES award builds on Balachandran’s record of competitively funded research since joining the college. He also holds a Department of Energy Early Career Award from the DOE Office of Science under its Accelerator Research and Development Program, providing $875,000 over five years to develop superconducting radio frequency materials for next-generation linear accelerators. He joined the college following a postdoctoral appointment at the Applied Superconductivity Center and a staff scientist role at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, known as TJNAF.
Which Other Institutions Received HERCULES Funding?
Other recipients in this round include MIT, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the University of Michigan, Texas A&M University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory. The next application round opens in mid-2026, with awards up to $500,000 available. Updates and timelines are published at helionenergy.com/HERCULES.
Editor’s Note: This article was edited with a custom prompt for Claude Sonnet 4.6, an AI assistant created by Anthropic. The AI optimized the article for SEO/GEO discoverability, improved clarity, structure and readability while preserving the original reporting and factual content. All information and viewpoints remain those of the author and publication. This article was edited and fact-checked by college staff before being published. This disclosure is part of our commitment to transparency in our editorial process. Last edited: 06/05/2026.
FAQ
What is the Helion HERCULES program?
HERCULES stands for Helion External Research Collaboration for Universities, Labs, and Enterprise Scientists. It is an external research funding program run by Helion Energy, a private fusion energy company based in Everett, Washington. The program funds projects at universities, national laboratories and private organizations to address technical challenges in scaling commercial fusion power. In its first 2026 round, Helion awarded $4 million across 25 proposals at 20 institutions in the U.S. and U.K., with more than $17 million committed through 2028. Individual grants range from $50,000 to $500,000.
What is the CARMA project, and what problem does it solve?
CARMA (Copper-Silver Alloys for Resistive Magnets) is a research project led by FAMU-FSU College of Engineering faculty Shreyas Balachandran and Mehrdad Kiani. It addresses a core materials challenge in fusion energy: the magnets used in fusion devices must be both extremely strong and highly conductive, but those two properties typically work against each other in metals. Copper-silver alloys can form nano-scale structures that improve strength without sacrificing conductivity. The CARMA project is developing scalable manufacturing processes to produce those nano-structures reliably.
Who are Shreyas Balachandran and Mehrdad Kiani?
Shreyas Balachandran is an associate professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering with a joint appointment in the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. He previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Applied Superconductivity Center and as a staff scientist at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility before joining the college. Mehrdad Kiani is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research focuses on nanoscale processing, advanced characterization and in situ measurements for novel electronic and semiconductor applications.
What does this research have to do with fusion energy?
Fusion energy devices use powerful magnets to confine superheated plasma during the fusion process. Resistive magnets—a category that includes copper-based coil systems—must withstand extreme electromagnetic forces while maintaining high electrical conductivity. Improvements in copper-silver alloy performance could directly increase the durability and manufacturability of these systems, helping companies like Helion move toward commercial-scale fusion power plants.
What is the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering?
The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is a joint college operated by Florida A&M University, a historically Black university, and Florida State University. Located in Tallahassee, Florida, it is one of the only colleges in the country jointly administered by two separate universities. The college offers undergraduate and graduate engineering programs and conducts research across a range of science and engineering disciplines, with particular strength in materials science, superconductivity and energy research.
How can researchers apply for HERCULES funding?
Helion opens HERCULES applications in phases. The next application round is expected to open in mid-2026, with individual awards of up to $500,000 available. Eligibility extends to universities, national laboratories and enterprise scientists. Updates and timelines are published at helionenergy.com/HERCULES.
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