Harnessing the Power of Stars on Earth #

In a warehouse in Wellington, New Zealand, a startup endeavors to recreate the immense energy of the stars through an innovative reactor design. This ‘inside out’ reactor features a powerful levitating magnet at its core, aiming to achieve nuclear fusion, a nearly limitless source of clean energy. Unlike conventional nuclear reactions that split atoms, fusion seeks to combine them, harnessing the universe’s most abundant element, hydrogen.

Earlier this month, the company succeeded in generating superheated plasma at temperatures reaching 300,000 degrees Celsius. This milestone marks a significant step in the journey toward sustainable fusion energy. “First plasma is a really important moment,” marking the beginning of a working system. The startup has invested two years and $10 million to reach this stage, aiming to expedite progress in the fusion domain, traditionally dominated by lengthy, government-led initiatives.

Nuclear fusion is often heralded as the ultimate solution to the energy crisis: it promises an endless energy supply without greenhouse gas emissions or long-term radioactive waste. Achieving it on Earth, however, has proven exceptionally challenging. The prevailing fusion technology involves tokamaks, donut-shaped machines that contain plasma with strong magnetic fields. The reactors reach temperatures of 150 million degrees, ten times hotter than the sun’s core.

The company’s approach flips this technology inside out, with a single, potent magnet levitating inside a vacuum chamber structured like a steel donut. Inspired by the plasma behavior around planetary magnetic fields, this design simplifies the engineering process compared to the intricate tokamak systems. This innovation not only facilitates rapid iterations and improvements but also allows for quicker repairs if needed.

Having raised $12 million already, the company plans to develop two additional prototypes within the next four years to scale its technology. As part of a growing number of fusion startups, these companies explore diverse paths to make fusion a feasible energy source. While some predict fusion power readiness in about six years, others anticipate its commercial availability in the early 2030s or later.

Despite the confidence and investment in these ambitious projects, the timeline for practical fusion energy remains uncertain. Nonetheless, there is optimism that the entrepreneurial spirit of these startups will accelerate progress toward achieving a long-elusive dream of clean and sustainable energy. “Not all of the fusion companies will be successful, but we as a society will learn faster.”