Type One Energy Unveils First Unified Fusion Power Plant Design
Type One Energy has announced the publication of the world’s first comprehensive and self-consistent physics basis for a practical fusion pilot power plant. This robust foundation, which includes conservative design margins, is presented through seven peer-reviewed scientific papers in a special issue of the prestigious Journal of Plasma Physics (JPP). These papers serve as the cornerstone for the company’s first fusion power plant project, Infinity Two, a stellarator design being developed for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) utility in the U.S.
Type One Energy has announced the publication of the world’s first comprehensive, self-consistent, and realistic physics design for a practical fusion pilot power plant. This marks a significant milestone in fusion energy development as the design is grounded in real-world operational experience, integrating complex factors like plasma performance, power plant startup, construction logistics, reliability, and economics. The design is based on the inherently favorable operating characteristics of stellarator fusion technology, which has been successfully demonstrated by the W7-X science machine in Germany, using modular superconducting magnets.
“We are the first private fusion company with an agreement to develop a potential fusion power plant for an energy utility because our design is anchored in reality,” said Christofer Mowry, CEO of Type One Energy. “The physics basis for Infinity Two is rooted in the knowledge of what is needed to meet the demanding requirements of reliable electrical generation for the power grid. This isn’t about designing a science project; it’s about making fusion power a reality for the utility sector.”
A Realistic Approach to Fusion Power
Under the leadership of Chris Hegna, a renowned theorist in modern stellarators, Type One Energy performed high-fidelity computational plasma physics analyses. These efforts substantially reduced the risk of meeting the Infinity Two power plant’s functional and performance requirements. This achievement resulted from a global collaboration involving scientists from national laboratories and universities worldwide. Type One Energy also utilized high-performance computing resources, including access to the U.S. Department of Energy’s exascale Frontier machine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), to perform advanced simulations and refine their stellarator design.
“Our team committed to this ambitious fusion commercialization goal two years ago, and today, we’ve delivered,” said John Canik, Chief Science and Engineering Officer at Type One Energy. “By leveraging high-performance computing resources, we were able to gain deep plasma physics insights, which led to the development of a realistic, integrated stellarator design. This design goes far beyond conventional fusion concepts, moving beyond the limitations of earlier modeling.”
Infinity Two Fusion Plant Design
The Infinity Two design is a deuterium-tritium (D-T) fueled, burning plasma stellarator that aims to produce 800 MW of fusion power, delivering a nominal 350 MWe to the power grid. The design ensures stable and resilient fusion plasma behavior across a wide range of operating conditions. It minimizes heat loss due to turbulent transport and features tolerable direct energy losses to the stellarator’s first wall. The Infinity Two stellarator also accommodates island divertors, which are used to exhaust helium ash, and a blanket that provides appropriate shielding and tritium breeding.
This physics solution gives Type One Energy confidence that the Infinity Two design provides a solid baseline for the fusion pilot power plant. The design also supports a maintenance solution that ensures favorable capacity factors (CF), which are crucial for achieving cost-effective electricity generation and optimizing the plant’s overall economic performance.
Setting New Standards in Fusion Energy Design
The articles published in a special issue of the Journal of Plasma Physics (JPP) represent a major step forward for the stellarator fusion concept. Per Helander, head of the Stellarator Theory Division at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, noted the significance of this achievement: “Thanks to decades of experiments and theoretical research, much of it published in JPP, we can now lay out the physics basis for a stellarator power plant in considerable detail. This work by Type One Energy sets new standards for the fidelity and confidence level in this context.”
These groundbreaking findings are essential for the successful commercialization of fusion power. The Infinity Two design enables Type One Energy to address key factors such as power plant capacity, Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), and regulatory requirements for component manufacturing and construction methods. These considerations are vital to achieving a reasonable Overnight Cost (ONC) for the Infinity Two fusion pilot power plant.
A Clear Path to Fusion Commercialization
The Infinity Two fusion power plant project is on track to make fusion energy a viable and scalable energy source. Type One Energy’s focus on real-world application, paired with its innovative stellarator design, provides a pathway to clean, reliable fusion power generation. By considering all the necessary variables and integrating years of experience and research into its design, the company is positioning itself at the forefront of the fusion energy industry.
As fusion power continues to advance, Type One Energy’s Infinity Two project represents a crucial step in the journey toward realizing fusion as a practical and economically competitive energy source. With a design grounded in solid physics and a clear strategy for commercialization, the company is well on its way to revolutionizing the global energy landscape.
