FutureOfNuclear.com by Ian Angus McLennan September 18, 2013
What do Jeff Bezos, BDC, SDTC, Cenovus Energy, Chrysalix, Braemar, Entrepreneurs’ Fund, and Growthworks have in common? They’ve all invested in General Fusion.
General Fusion was founded in 2002 with the goal of developing economically viable fusion power. Michael Delage, VP of Strategy and Corporate Development, will represent General Fusion as a panellist at this year’s conference. Read the full conference agenda here.
photo courtesy of generalfusion.comFor decades, nuclear fusion has been touted as tomorrow’s source of energy, but has always seemed to be decades away from real-world application. But with exciting new technologies and a growing concern for climate change, a handful of companies including General Fusion are working to crack the fusion riddle. The founder, Dr. Michel Laberge realized that Magnetized Target Fusion, with the aid of modern electronics, materials, and advances in plasma physics, could provide a faster, lower cost, and more practical path to fusion power:
“MTF’s advantages stem from its hybrid nature. MTF uses some magnetic field to confine the plasma, allowing for slower compression using mechanical systems. Magnetic fields in MTF are short-lived, avoiding complex plasma sustainment technologies. By comparison, Inertial Confinement’s fast compression requires high power lasers. Magnetic Confinement’s long plasma life requires massive superconducting magnets, particle beams, and exotic materials.”
(source: generalfusion.com)
Below is an animation of the General Fusion reactor system.