Pacific Fusion unveiled a prototype pulser module on Tuesday, a crucial step towards its demonstration fusion power plant. The company's CTO, Keith LeChien, credited the successful test with unlocking another tranche of funding from its Series A round, which now exceeds $1 billion. Pacific Fusion is among the best-funded fusion startups.
The pulser module uses 156 units to deliver a massive electrical pulse that compresses and heats fuel pellets until they fuse and release energy. The company's next challenge is scaling up the prototype to a full-size module, but it has begun construction on its demonstration power plant, with a summer start date for digging in the ground.
Inertial confinement fusion, Pacific Fusion's chosen approach, is currently the only method that can produce controlled reactions releasing more energy than required to initiate them. The company hopes its demonstration device will achieve facility breakeven, generating enough energy to power the entire facility. LeChien said this milestone would be a significant step towards commercializing fusion power.
Pacific Fusion has used a tranche-based funding model, common in biotech, which allows it to focus on technical milestones without constant fundraising efforts. The company's prototype pulser module successfully released 440 gigawatts of peak power in just 80 nanoseconds, meeting requirements for scaling up to the demonstration system.
