A French-based company is using stellarator technology to accelerate fusion research in Europe. Renaissance Fusion is building stellarators that it claims could be the most efficient, stable, and stable fusion reactors on Earth.

There are several approaches that come close to demonstrating net fusion electricity generation.

Laser fusion compresses a capsule to very high pressures using powerful lasers. In contrast, tokamaks and stellarators, which are doughnut-shaped devices, magnetically levitate hot ionized gases (plasmas) and heat them to temperatures hotter than the sun.

Simplifying the stellarator

The company claims that with the unique High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) magnets and liquid metal shields, get the stellarators out of the lab and onto the grid.

“Achieving net zero emissions targets requires a secure, abundant, 24/7 energy source to complement renewables and storage. Fusion is that source,” Renaissance Fusion said.

The company pointed out that in the process of simplifying the stellarator, it is also simplifying the manufacture of high-temperature superconductors (HTS).

This is a relatively new class of materials, enabling the generation of strong magnetic fields and thus enabling more compact and affordable fusion devices. It’s usually a very long and expensive process, but the company sped it up, fittingly Innovation News Network.

Stellarators can stay “on” all the time

The French firm claims that Stellar heating is highly efficient: delivering 1 kWh in plasma consumes 2-3 kWh of electricity in a stellarator, compared to over 100 kWh in laser fusion.

Another advantage is that stellarators can stay “on” all the time, while high-powered lasers are pulsed and have low repetition rates, Renaissance Fusion argued.

Instead of relying on plasma currents such as tokamaksstellarators confine the plasma through specially shaped 3D magnetic fields. Historically, this has led to complex coils with expensive and time-consuming design, modeling and manufacturing processes, according to the company.

Stellarator based fusion power plant

Renaissance Fusion aims to design, build and commercialize a fusion power plant based on StellarHTS and liquid metal technologies, in time to help solve the climate crisis caused by carbon emissions.

The company claims that the heat from the fusion reactions is mostly carried by neutrons and captured by the liquid metal wall facing the plasma.

Only high-temperature superconductors (HTS) can generate the high magnetic fields needed to make fusion smaller and cheaper. The benefits are impressive: a 4-fold increase in the magnetic field reduces the plasma volume by 256 times, according to Fusion of the Renaissance.

Lithium-based walls stop 99.99% of neutron energy

“Our liquid lithium-based walls stop 99.99% of neutron energy before they reach solid materials and make them radioactive. Brute force would require a 1.5 meter thick wall of liquid. With smart materials, we do it in 40 cm,” said Renaissance Fusion.

The liquid metal also serves as the “working fluid,” extracting heat from the stellarator and transferring it to the steam that drives the turbine.

In addition, it withstands the high temperatures and heat fluxes of compact fusion.