Fusion Power Corporation

kurt9 · Post by **kurt9** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 4:57 pm

Yet another fusion start-up, Fusion Power Corporation.

http://www.fusionpowercorporation.com/technology

These guys are commercializing standard D-T fusion and claimed to have solved the Tritium breeding problem. Does anyone here know anything about this company and its founder, Dr. Charles Helsley?

glemieux · Post by **glemieux** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 8:45 pm

No idea beyond what is in there bios. Intersting location for the company however. Scott's Valley? It's nestled in the Santa Cruz mountains just south of the Bay Area. It's one of those places I drive by on my way to Santa Cruz or Monterey....

kurt9 · Post by **kurt9** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:32 pm

Tri-Alpha is in Foothills of Orange County.

Ivy Matt · Post by **Ivy Matt** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:44 pm

I see they've updated their website since last fall.

If I understand everything correctly, they want $50 billion for a 10-chamber plant that would produce 100 GW of thermal power. Later plants would cost $20 billion and produce the same amount of power for less than five cents per kWh. Sounds nice. They'll probably have to get in line behind DEMO and LIFE, though.

kurt9 · Post by **kurt9** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:34 am

Ivy Matt wrote:I see they've updated their website since last fall.

If I understand everything correctly, they want $50 billion for a 10-chamber plant that would produce 100 GW of thermal power. Later plants would cost $20 billion and produce the same amount of power for less than five cents per kWh. Sounds nice. They'll probably have to get in line behind DEMO and LIFE, though.

That's unrealistic, to say the least.

hanelyp · Post by **hanelyp** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 2:06 am

Huge increment of money for a huge increment of generating capacity with a technology that has yet to be demonstrated... People with $50G generally don't get or stay there by taking blind risks.

Joseph Chikva · Post by **Joseph Chikva** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 4:11 am

hanelyp wrote:Huge increment of money for a huge increment of generating capacity with a technology that has yet to be demonstrated... People with $50G generally don't get or stay there by taking blind risks.

As I have read they propose Heavy Ions Fusion (HIF).
I do not know what do think people with $50G but HIF program as such is the most promising in Inertial Confinement Approaches. Unlike for example NIF. And how much have been already spent for NIF?

Giorgio · Post by **Giorgio** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:46 am

Yet another "give us money because we use complicated words" company....

Joseph Chikva · Post by **Joseph Chikva** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 9:07 am

Giorgio wrote:Yet another "give us money because we use complicated words" company....

I would give you money even if your company will have a simple name.
But I have not money.

To be serious, why TOKAMAK or NIF program are so expensive?
Because expensive components, because a lot of Ph.D., very skilled engineers and technicians with corresponding salary are involved, because in ITER case a lot of accompany programs start together with the main program.

When someone will achieve breakeven, then further commercialization process will require a lot of additional money.
Only here I see Polywell's enthusiasts and LENR's dreamers thinking that fusion can be realized with low budget on table top or in garage.

Giorgio · Post by **Giorgio** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 9:18 am

Joseph Chikva wrote:To be serious, why TOKAMAK or NIF program are so expensive?
Because expensive components, because a lot of Ph.D., very skilled engineers and technicians with corresponding salary are involved, because in ITER case a lot of accompany programs start together with the main program.

You forgot the biggest cost of all. Politics.

Joseph Chikva · Post by **Joseph Chikva** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:13 am

Giorgio wrote:You forgot the biggest cost of all. Politics.

May be. But now fusion is less topic discussion issue for politics.
Unlike earlirs years. When expectations that fusion might give net power just tomorrow were big.
Today fusion programs have a limited financing as influable people have opinion (on base of the expert opinion) that there is not any really viable fusion concept.

Giorgio · Post by **Giorgio** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:29 pm

Joseph Chikva wrote:
Giorgio wrote:You forgot the biggest cost of all. Politics.
May be. But now fusion is less topic discussion issue for politics.

Not politics enforced by governments, but the one enforced by scientists inside the big research organizations.

If you do not know about these facts you are missing a big piece of the global picture.

Ivy Matt · Post by **Ivy Matt** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 1:16 am

Perhaps I should add, from this story, that FPC's immediate plans are a bit more modest than I had thought. They're looking for $20 million to complete the first phase of their design, and then $200 million to complete the design. I'm not sure what this design consists of, and I haven't yet scoured every corner of FPC's website, but I imagine it's what everybody else is trying to create: a proof-of-concept device to demonstrate what is sometimes called "scientific break-even". After that comes the functional reactor, for at least $20 billion.

FPC is actively soliciting foreign investors and expects the first operational facility to be built in either Spain or India. They also have a Facebook page that has currently been "liked" five times. I think what they're really missing is a Kickstarter page.

Regarding heavy ion fusion: I don't doubt that the approach is "promising", but I think that, given the price tag and the timeline, most decision-makers, public or private, aren't going to turn to HIF until other approaches have failed, or been proven to be less economical. I don't expect that to happen, but I suppose it's always a possibility.

Joseph Chikva · Post by **Joseph Chikva** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:49 am

Ivy Matt wrote:Regarding heavy ion fusion: I don't doubt that the approach is "promising", but I think that, given the price tag and the timeline, most decision-makers, public or private, aren't going to turn to HIF until other approaches have failed, or been proven to be less economical. I don't expect that to happen, but I suppose it's always a possibility.

I am sure that sooner or later all other approaches will be failed.
But for failure of TOKAMAK (ITER) the waiting for 2030 is required.

Note: In fact for producing of net power TOKAMAK needs 500-600s of confinement. Even if that become possible, that would be inexpedient because of low power with extremely high capital cost.

Ivy Matt · Post by **Ivy Matt** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 10:48 pm

FPC has a new YouTube video out:

StarPower for Tomorrow

Fusion is only ten years away...and FPC has exclusive rights?