[FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. ] In a recent publication in Nature Communications, TAE Technologies and Japan’s National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) have made significant progress in developing a sustainable and environmentally friendly source of fusion energy. The companies have successfully conducted the first-ever hydrogen-boron fusion experiments in a magnetically confined fusion plasma, using TAE's advanced accelerator beam-driven field-reversed configuration (FRC).
Unlike traditional fusion efforts that rely on hydrogen isotopes deuterium-tritium (D-T) as fuel, TAE is pioneering the use of clean and abundant hydrogen-boron fuel (p-B11 or p11B) in its fusion reactors. TAE's compact linear design can accommodate all available fusion fuel cycles, including p-B11, D-T, and deuterium-helium-3 (D-He3 or D3He). This approach provides greater flexibility in fuel choice, making TAE's technology commercially viable and sustainable in the long run.
The latest experiment conducted at NIFS' Large Helical Device (LHD) produced the conditions necessary for hydrogen-boron fusion and TAE's detector was able to measure the reaction products. The findings demonstrate that hydrogen-boron has a place in utility-scale fusion power, representing a significant step towards TAE's goal of developing commercial fusion power with hydrogen-boron.
TAE Technologies is a leading private commercial fusion energy company that has built five National Laboratory-scale devices to generate and confine fusion plasma. The company is currently building two more machines, Copernicus and Da Vinci, which will be able to demonstrate net energy and deliver power to the grid, respectively.
TAE's FRC design is modular, easy-to-maintain, and has a compact footprint. It has the potential to take advantage of a more efficient magnetic confinement methodology, providing up to 100 times more power output compared to traditional tokamak machines. The FRC's versatility in accommodating different fuel cycles, including p-B11, makes TAE's technology commercially viable and sustainable in the long run.
While the challenges of producing the fusion core for hydrogen-boron are greater than those of D-T, the engineering of the reactor will be far simpler, making the p-B11 path to fusion a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative. TAE's commitment to using hydrogen-boron fuel underscores its dedication to delivering a clean and sustainable energy source to the world.
