First Light Fusion
First Light Fusion Ltd is a British fusion research company, based in Oxfordshire, England.[1]
Projectile fusion
[edit]| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fusion power |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Nicholas Hawker Yiannis Ventikos |
| Headquarters | UK |
Key people | Nicholas Hawker (CEO) David Bryon (CFO) Bart Markus (Chairman) Ryan Ramsey (COO) |
| Website | https://firstlightfusion.com/ |
The company's approach to fusion research is a particular form of inertial fusion called projectile fusion.[2] Projectile fusion involves electromagnetically accelerating a metal projectile, firing it into a fusion target similar to that used by NIF that is embedded in a cube. The cube is termed an amplifier. It contains spherical cavities that send the projectile's energy onto the fuel capsule, focusing shock waves instead of light. The projectile speed (tens of kilometers per second) becomes an implosion speed of hundreds of kilometers per second (producing fuel pressure of 10–100 terapascals), sufficient to produce fusion.[3]
History
[edit]The company was founded by Nicholas Hawker and his former academic adviser Yiannis Ventikos in 2011, as a research spin-off at the University of Oxford.[4][5]
Ventikos had suggested forming the company based on Hawker's research into hydrodynamic simulations of shock-driven cavity collapse.[5][6] Part of Hawker's PhD research had involved studying the cavity collapse caused by a pistol shrimp's claw.[7]
In January 2023 it was announced that the company had entered an agreement with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority to develop First Light's "Machine 4" (M4) at the UKAEA's Culham Campus. M4 will attempt to demonstrate the capacity of projectile fusion to reach net energy gain.[citation needed]
Belgium-based engineering company Tractebel announced the signing of a framework agreement in July 2023 to jointly develop the M4 facility with First Light.[8][9]
In March 2024, the company announced that it had set a record of 1.85-terapascals with an 80-terawatt shot using the Z-machine at Sandia National Laboratories.[10] In April 2024, the company announced that it had extended the distance its projectiles can travel without self-destructing from 1 cm to 10 cm.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Mustoe, Howard (2023-08-13). "How a US fusion breakthrough left Britain scrambling to catch up". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ Fusion, First Light. "New approach to Inertial Fusion | Projectile Fusion | First Light Fusion". firstlightfusion.com. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ Schirber, Michael (2024-02-05). "Inertial-Confinement Fusion without Lasers". Physics. 17: 22. Bibcode:2024PhyOJ..17...22S. doi:10.1103/Physics.17.22.
- ^ Bardsley, Daniel (2022-10-17). "How nuclear fusion reactors like this one could change the world". The National. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ a b "Projectile fusion goes for gain". Eureka. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ Michaels, Daniel (2019-10-09). "Europe's Old Universities Spin Out New Tech Companies". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ Hargrave, Sean (2023-06-29). "The tale of shrimp-inspired nuclear fusion". Raconteur. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ Dalton, David (2023-08-09). "Tractebel Signs Agreement For UK Facility That Will Demonstrate 'Net Gain'". NUCNET. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ "Tractebel supports First Light Fusion in making inertial fusion a reality". Tractebel Engie. 2023-08-09. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ Sanderson, Cosmo (March 7, 2024). "The 80 trillion-watt shot: 'Holy Grail' fusion energy pioneer claims record at world's most powerful machine". Recharge | Latest renewable energy news. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ Wang, Brian (2024-04-15). "First Light Fusion Makes Progress Towards an Economical Working Fusion Reactor | NextBigFuture.com". Retrieved 2024-05-12.