Small Tri Alpha news blurp

[Munchausen]

TAE has sent out reservation invitations for a 'virtual tour'.
Register for TAE Technologies' Virtual Tour

WHEN: Thursday, May 9 at 10a PDT/1p EDT/6p BST
WHERE: Zoom
SIGN UP: Tour Registration Form
https://tae.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN ... gistration

TAE Technologies Virtual Tour
Date & Time May 9, 2024 01:00 PM in
Eastern Time (US and Canada)
DescriptionJoin us to learn how TAE is scaling toward grid-ready fusion!

CEO Michl Binderbauer will guide a virtual tour of our California-based lab and fifth-generation experimental research reactor, “Norman,” followed by a Q&A with VP of Fusion Science Erik Trask.

Registration is required.

I don't think they have the funding for the new machine yet. They got a building so far from what I last saw but the actual machine is still not fully funded, I think.

I googled TAE Copernicus funding and found this

https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-commit ... ogies.html

Accelerating commercialization of fusion technology, TAE closed a $250 million financing round from strategic and institutional investors. Goldman Sachs served as exclusive financial advisor for the transaction. The capital raised will fund the construction of TAE’s sixth-generation research reactor, Copernicus, which is currently being constructed in a 100,000-square-foot facility in Irvine,

[sd_matt]

 From my email subscription. When I went to the TAE site the link to the article didn't work.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Occidental Low Carbon Ventures and TAE Technologies Explore Fusion Energy for Direct Air Capture Facilities

HOUSTON (June 11, 2024) — Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental (NYSE: OXY), and TAE Technologies, a global leader in fusion energy development, today announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore commercial opportunities that use TAE’s fusion technology to provide emissions-free power and heat for Direct Air Capture (DAC) facilities.

Fusion technology has the potential to deliver emissions-free, continuous and on-demand energy to complement Occidental’s existing zero or very-low emissions approach for DAC power and heat requirements. Occidental anticipates a variety of energy sources will be needed including solar, wind, NetPower and potentially other forms of renewables depending on the location and future DAC technology development.

Through the agreement, TAE Technologies can explore demonstrating the reliability, cost savings and safety of their TAE Power Solutions power management systems in a high utilization commercial setting.

“Collaborating with TAE Technologies is an opportunity to build on Occidental’s portfolio of clean power sources that can provide our Direct Air Capture facilities with reliable, emissions-free energy,” said Frank Koller, Vice President, Power Development, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. “Fusion is a promising technology that advances our efforts to explore sustainable energy sources as we progress with commercializing large scale Direct Air Capture as a critical climate solution.”

“Oxy Low Carbon Venture’s desire for emissions-free energy makes this the perfect moment to explore the deployment of our commercial-ready power management products, while the growing demand for large-scale power generation can be served by our future fusion offerings,” said Michl Binderbauer, CEO, TAE Technologies. “We are thrilled to work toward achieving these ambitious goals and demonstrate the benefits of our technologies to other high-power users.”

TAE’s fusion technology works by combining (or fusing) the light nuclei of elements such as hydrogen to produce energy. The energy release is managed by producing steam, which spins a turbine that drives an electric generator producing a reliable supply of clean energy or used as-is to provide clean heat.

[Munchausen]

Direct Air Capture is a really really bad idea. It is better to use the power directly to replace coal electricity.

Once you have the enough power to convert carbon dioxide into something useful there are ample point sources that provide it cheaper. Blast furnaces, waste incineration, cement production and so forth.

Amine scrubbing technology is readily available to create clean carbon dioxide from a mixed off gas stream.

[usesbiggerwords]

DAC is the golden child at Oxy. Don't ask how I know this.

[Munchausen]

DAC is the golden child at Oxy. Don't ask how I know this.

Yeah, that might be inpolite. Especially if you are the guy handing out the government funding that makes all these schemes run....

[Munchausen]

Recent article published 23/8:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1 ... 326/ad4536

1 keV and 40 ms plasma lifetime in the Norman machine.

C-2W operations have now reached a mature level where the machine can produce hot, stable, long-lived, and repeatable plasmas in a well-controlled manner.

[Munchausen]

Fresh nature article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58849-5

We report evidence of successful generation of field-reversed configuration plasmas by neutral beam injection.

These results establish a field-reversed configuration formation method which may offer technological and economic advantages on a path to a future fusion energy system.

[mvanwink5]

The paper basically says TAE has simplified & significantly lowered the cost of their machine by changing the way they create the FRC plasma. Looking at the diagram of the two machine configurations (new vs old) it would appear the length of the new NBI machine (machine that uses neutral beam injection method of forming the FRC) is half that of their previous approach using the theta pinch.

[Skipjack]

Interesting formation technique. That will certainly help making their machines smaller and cheaper to build. What is notable to me mostly how low the temperatures they are operating at still are today.

[baking]

Neutral Beam Injection is not cheap.

[mvanwink5]

Neutral Beam Injection is not cheap.

It does not look like they are adding large neutral beam injectors for start up based on the article diagram comparing the two machines (Norm vs Norman), plus the NBI start up use is only for 10ms. Looks like a significant improvement. (For continuous operation NBI is used in both Norm & Norman.)

[Munchausen]

Interesting formation technique. That will certainly help making their machines smaller and cheaper to build. What is notable to me mostly how low the temperatures they are operating at still are today.

This makes it possible for them to omit the two big drums at each end of the machine. Correctly understood?

[Munchausen]

Interesting formation technique. That will certainly help making their machines smaller and cheaper to build. What is notable to me mostly how low the temperatures they are operating at still are today.

This makes it possible for them to omit the two big drums at each end of the machine. Correctly understood?

Not really.....

Nice video explanation here:

https://tae.com/tae-technologies-delive ... wer-plant/