Major milestone towards commercial
fusion energy and a zero-carbon energy future
MADISON,
Wis., July 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Realta
Fusion, a fusion energy startup, today announced that in
partnership with researchers from the University of Wisconsin, they successfully applied
the highest ever steady magnetic field in a fusion plasma
experiment. This marks a major milestone towards commercial fusion
energy and a zero-carbon energy future.
Highest ever steady magnetic field in
fusion plasma is a giant leap forward towards commercial fusion
energy
Realta Fusion and University of
Wisconsin researchers, operating the Wisconsin HTS
Axisymmetric Mirror (WHAM) experiment, formed and held a plasma
with a magnetic field strength of 17 Tesla on the confined plasma
achieving a series of firsts for fusion energy. This demonstration
was the first use of High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) magnets
in a magnetic mirror configuration.
Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF) creates the conditions for
fusion to occur by trapping a very energetic plasma in a "magnetic
bottle". Utilizing very high-field magnets is a key technical
milestone in enabling fusion energy systems. WHAM is the first
device to integrate HTS magnets with multiple high power plasma
heating systems and advanced plasma control. By combining these
innovations, the WHAM experiment is expected to achieve new records
in plasma density, paving the path to commercial fusion energy.
"This is the culmination of a huge effort from the WHAM team,
and a significant step towards fusion energy power plants," said
Professor Cary Forest of the
University of Wisconsin and Chief
Scientific Officer of Realta Fusion. "With the WHAM experiment we
have brought together advances in superconductor technology and
plasma physics, to demonstrate the potential of the compact
magnetic mirror as a fusion energy system."
The magnetic mirror was one of the leading fusion energy
concepts in the U.S. until the 1980s when existing technology was a
limiting factor to controlling the magnetically confined plasma.
Recent advances in superconducting technology – specifically HTS
magnets – and plasma stability control encouraged Professor Forest,
Dr. Jay Anderson (University of Wisconsin Senior Scientist &
Realta Fusion co-founder), and their collaborators to revisit the
magnetic mirror and design a much more compact and lower cost
system than earlier experiments.
"Today's demonstration puts the compact magnetic mirror firmly
back in the race towards commercial fusion energy. It's a giant
leap forward for a concept that promises economically viable,
zero-carbon heat and electricity," said Kieran Furlong, CEO of Realta Fusion.
Realta Fusion is a venture-backed private fusion company that
spun out of the WHAM project in 2022 to develop a commercial fusion
energy system based on the WHAM concept. Realta Fusion scientists
worked alongside University of
Wisconsin researchers to achieve today's milestone. Realta
continues to fund and staff the ongoing WHAM project through a
sponsored research agreement with the University of Wisconsin. The U.S. Department of
Energy's ARPA-E division invested over $10
million in the project, along with significant contributions
from the University of Wisconsin, WARF,
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and other partners. CFS designed
and manufactured the two record-breaking 17 T axisymmetric HTS
magnets used in the experiment.
About Realta Fusion
Realta Fusion is a
fusion energy start-up company which spun out of a large ARPA-E
funded project at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. The company raised a successful seed
financing round in May 2023 led by
Khosla Ventures and is an awardee of the Department of Energy's
Milestone Fusion Program. Realta is developing modular, compact
magnetic mirror fusion energy generators as the lowest capex and
least complex path to commercially competitive fusion energy.
Realta is targeting the need to decarbonize industrial process heat
and electrical power as the fastest path to full-scale deployment
of this technology. The company is based in Madison, WI.
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SOURCE Realta Fusion Inc