tech
Exclusive: Inertia Enterprises finds a way to make its fusion fuel fast
Fusion power startup Inertia Enterprises reduced the fuel filling process from a week to just a few hours. It's one of 10 hurdles the company must overcome to make a profitable power plant.
TL;DR
- Inertia Enterprises has reduced the time to create fusion fuel pellets from several days to minutes.
- This advancement is one of ten barriers Inertia must overcome to achieve commercial fusion power.
- The new process can create a fuel pellet in two to three hours, down from a week or more at the National Ignition Facility (NIF).
- Inertia aims to mass-manufacture fuel pellets, unlike NIF's prototype production.
- The startup's more powerful laser allows for greater tolerance of imperfections in fuel pellets, aiding the faster manufacturing process.
- Reducing fuel filling time also decreases the need for large, costly, and radioactive tritium inventory.