WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Helion, a company seeking to generate power by replicating the nuclear fusion ​reaction that takes place in stars, said on Tuesday it is the first such U.S. firm to get all of its needed regulatory licenses.

• Fusion, not yet commercial, generates energy by jamming light atoms together under extremely high temperatures.

• Helion has started construction on a fusion reactor in Malaga, Washington state.

• Helion got the two licenses from Washington state's Department of Health.

• "It's a really encouraging next step to getting that power on the grid," David Kirtley, Helion's CEO, said in an interview about the licenses.

• The company signed an agreement in 2023 to supply Microsoft MSFT.O with at least 50 megawatts of power from the plant in 2028.

• Fusion, unlike today's nuclear fission plants, does not produce long-lasting radioactive waste, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ruled in 2023 that fusion does not need the complex regulations that fission requires.

• The NRC regulates byproduct material associated with fusion machines except in states such as Washington, where it has relinquished that authority.

• Critics doubt fusion's timeline for producing power and say Helion has not published thorough peer-reviewed papers on its design.

• Kirtley said Helion is focused on building plants, not on producing papers, and that outside peers have validated that its prototype machine has reached the 150 million-degree Celsius temperature the company says unlocks fusion reactions in its machines.