Avalanche Energy has achieved a significant milestone by operating its desktop fusion machine at 300,000 volts. This voltage allows the company to potentially create a reactor that produces more energy than it consumes. Utilizing intense electrical currents instead of powerful magnets, Avalanche draws fast-moving ions into tight orbits, facilitating their fusion. The company received a $10 million grant from Washington State to build FusionWERX, a facility for testing fusion technologies, aiming for profitability by 2028 with projected revenues of $30 to $50 million in 2029.
"Getting to really high voltages is the key thing," Langtry, Avalanche's co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. And given that the company is building small reactors - targeting anywhere from 5 kilowatts to several hundred kilowatts - the density of that voltage, 6 million volts per meter, is important. "That's the real unlock for us," he said.
With that sort of force, Avalanche expects it will be able to generate a large number of neutrons at low cost, which can be used to make radioisotopes and to evaluate materials for use in fusion reactors.
The company was recently awarded $10 million from Washington State to build FusionWERX, a testing facility that other fusion companies and researchers can book time to study their own fusion technologies. Money for the grant comes from proceeds from the state's carbon marketplace.
Sales of radioisotopes and rentals of the FusionWERX facility should make Avalanche profitable in 2028, he said. Langtry is forecasting that the company will generate $30 million to $50 million in revenue in 2029.
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