FLARE gains promise for fusion
First Light Fusion, UK, presents reactor-compatible path to high-gain fusion.
The company claims this is the first commercially viable, reactor-compatible pathway for high-gain inertial fusion, which is seen as a critical step toward delivering affordable fusion energy at scale.
In its new white paper, the University of Oxford spin-out outlines an approach to fusion energy called FLARE – Fusion via Low-power Assembly and Rapid Excitation.
While the conventional inertial fusion energy approach is to compress and heat the fuel at the same time to achieve ignition, FLARE splits this process into two: first compressing the fuel and then using a separate process to ignite it.
Though this has long been researched, First Light says its unique amplification technology would now make it practical.
The company says that this approach would underpin the design for commercial reactors that can be based on much lower-power systems than currently in action, opening up an opportunity for partners to build those systems.
Gain – when more energy is converted from the reaction than energy delivered to the fuel – has been the missing link to full-scale commercial fusion.
The record gain level is 4, achieved at the US Department of Energy's National Ignition Facility (NIF).
FLF's new FLARE concept is reported to have the potential for energy gain of up to 1,000.
The company's economic modelling suggests that gain of at least 200 is needed for fusion energy to be commercially competitive, while gain of 1,000 would enable very low-cost power.
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