Inertia Enterprises finds a way to make its fusion fuel fast
techcrunch ·
Inertia Enterprises, a fusion startup, says it has cut the time needed to produce its fuel pellets from several days to just hours. The company raised $450 million to commercialize technology from the National Ignition Facility, where pellets take over a week and cost a fortune. By simplifying and accelerating the process, Inertia can grow the fuel crystals in about 30 minutes and make a full pellet in two to three hours. A key advantage is its planned laser, four times more powerful than NIF's, which allows more imperfections in the pellets. Faster production also reduces the amount of radioactive, expensive tritium the company must keep on hand. Inertia expects a full-scale plant to consume 10 fuel pellets per second. The company worked with NIF under a public-private partnership and says it has overcome one of ten barriers to its commercial ambitions.
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