General Fusion achieves technology milestone for practical fusion power
Maryam Farag
Industry Energy Manufacturing Canada General Fusion manufacturer manufacturing power Technology
Photo: General Fusion.
General Fusion announced it has achieved several performance goals of a prototype system for its Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP).
The company’s plasma compression prototype, located at its Vancouver, B.C. laboratory, is being used to demonstrate a critical element of its proprietary Magnetized Target Fusion technology.
“Net energy production is essential, but not really the ultimate goal of commercializing fusion energy, which is building economical, carbon-free fusion power plants,” said Christofer Mowry, CEO, General Fusion. “Our unique technology, two decades in the making, solves the long-standing challenges of building practical fusion power plants for the world’s energy markets struggling to move away from fossil fuels. The successful performance of this important prototype validates we are on the path to success.”
Commissioned in early 2021, the prototype machine drives a symmetric collapse of a large liquid vortex cavity in tens of milliseconds. The forces involved in the full-scale FDP compression system will be immense, pushing the limits of material science, fluid dynamics, and mechanical design. It will use a collapsing liquid metal cavity to heat and compress plasma fuel to fusion conditions at 100 million degrees Celsius.
