General Fusion's Approach to Commercialization

General Fusion's Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology uses liquid metal to compress a magnetized self-organized hydrogen isotope plasma, which in-turn heats until the hydrogen isotopes fuse into helium, and release energy. MTF technology is an MCF (Magnetically Confined Fusion) - ICF (Inertial Confined Fusion) hybrid. During the MTF process a plasma is first formed with a strong self-supported magnetic structure, then the plasma is physically compressed on a time scale less than the characteristic plasma thermal lifetime to fusion conditions at moderate densities. General Fusion has selected MTF as the basis for its technology due to its commercially attractive approach to fusion power that avoids many of the technology hurdles associated with MCF or ICF technology. The magnetized plasma is formed in the injection system by passing a large electric current through a low-density gas in the presence of a strong static magnetic field. The gas is ionized creating a conductive plasma. The current flowing in the conductive plasma interacts with the static magnetic field, causing the current to loop upon itself, creating a self-organized structure, with closed magnetic flux surfaces, called a compact torus (CT). The CT is injected into a cavity within a spherical compression vessel. The cavity is produced by a liquid metal filled porous structure, within the compression vessel, that spins about its central axis. The CT is then compressed by radially injecting liquid metal into the compression vessel, through the porous structure. The fluid is injected by a constellation of synchronized pistons that surround the compression vessel. As the liquid metal converges towards the centre of the vessel, the cavity's volume is rapidly decreased, compressing the confined magnetized plasma. As the cavity encloses the CT, the confined magnetic field induces electrical currents in the liquid metal cavity wall. The induced wall currents produce magnetic fields that push the CT away, and inwards, from the shrinking cavity wall, rapidly compressing and heating the enclosed CT. As the CT is compressed it becomes denser and heats, eventually to the point where its constituent hydrogen isotopes fuse into helium. The liquid metal liner shields the fusion vessel structure from damaging neutron flux, and provides the medium to convert fusion energy, primarily in the form of high energy neutrons, into thermal energy - energy that is, in turn, used to generate power. The liquid metal is a lithium-containing alloy that breeds a small amount of tritium due to the neutron flux. The intrinsic tritium production provides a closed loop supply of hydrogen isotope fuel for the system.