LPP questions/discussion

[Dutchie]

Great explanation of where things stand and how they want to achieve net energy by the end of the year.

How We Will Get to Net...Energy

 

[Bobfitz1]

Great explanation of where things stand and how they want to achieve net energy by the end of the year.
How We Will Get to Net...Energy

Thanks @Dutchie. This is the best explanation I can remember seeing from LPPFusion on how their low capital cost fusion approach could ramp from their current highest fusion output to the level needed to equal or exceed the energy input into a test shot (30K joules).

LPPF has been working on their approach for many years hampered by lack of deserved financial support. What can't be disputed is they have managed to produce more fusion output per energy input than any of the other private efforts, some funded by billionaires.

Eric Lerner describes the multiple steps needed to achieve net energy. There is no guarantee that they will all be successful, but the first step that should increase fusion output by 40 times (to 10 Joules) could be realized in the next few months. If that does occur it will lend substantial credence to claims the major steps to follow have a reasonable chance to take fusion yield close to breakeven.

I will be speaking with a small group of student athletes (ski racers) this week on climate change, renewable energy sources and EVs. In preparing for the talk this morning I did a little research on the latest climate science developments and was struck anew by how dire the prospects of getting off fossil fuels soon enough to head off consequences of a greater than 2 degree C temp rise have become.

Even despite the incredible tipping point effect Tesla is having on moving from ICE to EVs and battery storage for solar PV and wind. Fusion power could improve our chances, but only if it arrives soon, can be ramped quickly and costs less than PV and wind with storage.

Two quotes from @Dutchie's link:

" ...we are a lot closer than any other private fusion effort. TAE, our closest rival, has to increase their yield a thousand times more than we do."

".....our process gives us a lot of leverage to convert small gains in compression to large gains in yield. Our device produces a tiny ball of ultra-hot plasma called a “plasmoid”. We have already gotten this plasmoid to the more than 2 BILLION degrees temperature we need. But we have to make it denser. Fortunately for every factor of two we improve the compression, and thus decrease the plasmoid radius, we get a factor of four increase in density. For every factor of four increase in density, we get a factor of 16 increase in fusion yield. In mathematical terms, yield goes up as the compression ratio to the fourth power."

 

[Dutchie]

Here the first part of a series of articles about LPP fusion

Focus fusion is the hottest idea in nuclear energy