Search found 6805 matches

by Skipjack
Thu Feb 22, 2024 5:47 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

One other source of revenue for Helion not mentioned much is licensing. Once the technology is proven later this decade (something which I have little doubt will happen), the Mitsubishis and Westinghouses of the world, or those looking to supplant them, will be chomping at the bit to license the te...
by Skipjack
Wed Feb 21, 2024 9:52 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

Has any estimate been put forward by Helion as to what it will cost to manufacture a 50 MWe power plant? I think that it depends on how far into the mass production they are. The first plants likely won't be as cheap as the later ones when mass production is in full swing and they have built their ...
by Skipjack
Wed Feb 21, 2024 2:16 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

The obsession is not with tritium burning, it’s with evacuation being a limiting factor for power production. Evacuating less means putting up with burning waste tritium. They are still limited by wall loads more than anything. There are a few other things too that I am not sure I am at liberty to ...
by Skipjack
Fri Feb 16, 2024 6:42 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

If Helion's reactor could run in 'dirty' mode, still evacuating at 10Hz, but with two pulses between evacuations, it would generate circa twice the power. The machine would still be limited by the wall loads. You don't want your first wall to melt or crack. What I think would be easier is to have t...
by Skipjack
Fri Feb 16, 2024 1:59 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

This from the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/29/gas-fired-plants-uk-lights-on-cost-profits-energy-crisis Producers getting up to £6 ~$7 per kWh at some times. Yeah, that is for gas peaker plants. They are notoriously expensive. One reason is that they are on so rarely. So in orde...
by Skipjack
Wed Feb 14, 2024 8:45 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

It should be more like 50 cent/kWh. They would make ~7 kg of Tritium/year. Also, do not compare end consumer prices to the price the producer gets. E.g. nuclear fission plants produce electricity at between 4 cents to 8 cents/kWh. Solar and wind can be lower than that, but then they have hidden cost...
by Skipjack
Wed Feb 14, 2024 3:19 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

The point about selling the Tritium is a good one. Yeah, this is the crazy part. At the projected cost of 1 cent/kWh a 50 MWe Helion mixed mode power plant would make about 4 million/year in revenue. At the current price of 30,000 USD/gram, selling the Tritium from the same power plant would make H...
by Skipjack
Tue Feb 13, 2024 6:15 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

If they don't evacuate the chamber every time, D-T reactions, and subsequently 14 MeV neutrons, become a much bigger problem. Yes, I was aware, but there may be compensating advantages. Given the T is highly reactive, is it safe to assume that all of the T from one pulse would react with D in a sub...
by Skipjack
Mon Feb 12, 2024 4:24 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

But I don't see the other scenario. If they had enough 3He, operating at 25 keV, with a 1:1 D-3He mix, then for each 2 D-3He reactions they would have 1 D-D. Am I wrong? I am not sure what you are getting at here. Are we just assuming a 1:1 ratio of Deuterium to He3? Generally, Helion NEEDS a ratio...
by Skipjack
Sun Feb 11, 2024 11:54 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

charliem wrote:
Sun Feb 11, 2024 11:41 pm
If they don't evacuate the chamber every time, D-T reactions, and subsequently 14 MeV neutrons, become a much bigger problem.
This! That is also what they talk about in their fuel cycle patent.
by Skipjack
Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:56 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

Yeah, I think they are still aiming for 10 Hz for the power plant design. As for the math: A D-He3 reaction should be 18.3 MeV in charged particles 2He4 (3.6 MeV) + p ( 14.7 MeV ) IF they have enough He3 from T- decay, then D-D reactions would be 1/2 of the total. If they do not, then they would be ...
by Skipjack
Fri Feb 09, 2024 12:40 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

Making vacuum vessels for our fusion systems!
https://x.com/Helion_Energy/status/1755 ... 68320?s=20
HelionVacuumVessels.jpg
HelionVacuumVessels.jpg (77 KiB) Viewed 607 times
by Skipjack
Fri Feb 02, 2024 6:51 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Avalanche Energy
Replies: 26
Views: 8951

Re: Avalanche Energy

They now have a blog and there is a video that sort of kind of explains more of what they are doing. It is an interesting take on inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. That said, it looks like their optimal parameter space is very small and while they have some simulation- results that align wi...
by Skipjack
Fri Feb 02, 2024 4:49 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

Sam Altman:
where @Helion_Energy will soon start to install polaris:
https://x.com/sama/status/1753250549045018728?s=20
HelionPolarisVault.jpg
HelionPolarisVault.jpg (115.2 KiB) Viewed 795 times
by Skipjack
Wed Jan 31, 2024 7:10 am
Forum: News
Topic: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024
Replies: 660
Views: 104400

Re: Helion Energy to demonstrate net electricity production by 2024

and I think we're assuming the 1.01MeV tritium is harvested (both as ash and charged product) instead of reacting so ignoring the "fuel cycle" The Tritium is too hot and non- collisional on the timescale of the pulse and the chamber is evacuated between pulses. So no significant amounts of it react...