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0 pointsnext_xibalba3y ago0 comments

While you’re probably right about GP’s cynical tone, this announcement does seem fairly meaningless. Does Helion have a working prototype that can be reasonably moved into production? Or is that still years away?

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9 comments · 3 top-level

DennisP3y ago· 5 in thread

Their sixth reactor achieved 100M degree temps, ran for 16 months under vacuum, did thousands of fusion shots, and demonstrated D-He3 fusion.

Their seventh will start up in 2024, and is supposed to demonstrate net electricity from D-He3.

Their eighth is supposed to be the commercial reactor. If they don't achieve that, they will have to pay penalties to Microsoft.

zardo3y ago

> Their sixth reactor achieved 100M degree temps, ran for 16 months under vacuum, did thousands of fusion shots, and demonstrated D-He3 fusion.

I don't have anything near the expertise to evaluate Helions approach, but I know enough about fusion to say that just because you have a design that can achieve fusion conditions does not mean the approach could even theoretically lead to a power plant. e.g. electrostatic fusors

DennisP3y ago

True, but FRCs like Helion uses are thought to be workable.

chasil3y ago

Divorced from both cynicism and hype, how does this compare to the recent advance in hohlraum laser fusion?

https://www.llnl.gov/news/lawrence-livermore-national-labora...

gpm3y ago

It's a completely different approach to fusion.

Lasers are really inefficient (poor at transforming electrical energy into light energy). They got more energy out than they put into the pellet, but nowhere near as much energy as they put into the lasers. Which means that turning that experiment into commercial fusion is... "not straightforward".

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pfdietz3y ago

It's much more promising than the laser approach, IMO.

aetherson3y ago· 1 in thread

Helion in 2014: We're about 3 years away from break-even energy.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-VCDB-15246

DennisP3y ago

They didn't get the funding they needed until 2021.

https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/05/helion-series-e/

julienchastang3y ago

Also from the WSJ this AM: https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-bets-that-fusion-powe...

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