How We’re Advancing American Fusion Energy to Power the A.I. Revolution
This week, we welcomed analysts to TAE Technologies’ headquarters for a look at how we’re advancing American fusion energy to power the A.I. revolution.
Advanced Beam-Driven Field-Reversed Configurations for Aneutronic Fusion
November 2025 | H. Gota | CWFEST 2025 | Presentation
TAE’s goal: p-11B aneutronic fusion Reactivity of p-11B has been reassessed
– Cross section larger than previously believed.
– Kinetic effects can further increase reactivity
– Net effect leads to ~30% increase of the fusion yield for the same…
Compact Toroid Injection into C-2W FRC
November 2025 | T. Matsumoto | 2025 US-Japan FRC Workshop | Presentation
– Two-CT injection was successfully demonstrated
– No disruption due to the injection was observed
– Plasma performance during FRC ramp-up was improved
– Diamagnetism was observed with only CTs and NBIs
Implementation of a Lyman-α Diagnostic for Edge Neutral Characterization in C-2W
November 2025 | J. Wood | 2025 US-Japan FRC Workshop | Presentation
Characterizing neutral particles is essential for understanding fueling, confinement, and fast-ion behavior in C-2W’s magnetically confined FRCs.
A dedicated Lyman-⍺ diagnostic has been installed on C-2W
Fueling Quasi Steady-State FRC Plasmas in C-2W
November 2025 | J. Barrett | 2025 US-Japan FRC Workshop | Presentation
With the genesis of Norm, a new fueling paradigm is born:
– Fueling Location Matters:
Open field lines are necessary for efficient FRC fueling.
Increased p-11B fusion reaction rate through fast-ion acceleration by ICRF heating in LHD
November 2025 | S. Kamio | 2025 US-Japan FRC Workshop | Presentation
ICRF heating in LHD clearly accelerates fast ions and enhances p-¹¹B fusion yield. In the FRC device C-2W, fast-ion acceleration is also observed together with beam-driven modes. The n = 2 mode can accelerate NB-injected ions to nearly twice their initial energy…
Overview of Beam Driven FRCs at TAE
November 2025 | S. Dettrick | 2025 US-Japan FRC Workshop | Presentation
Non-inductive start-up, ramp-up, and sustainment of FRC using neutral beams. Experimental validation of Improved Tilt Stability with Neutral Beams. Neutral
Beams can drive Energetic Particle Modes in Steady State FRC. Electrode biasing improves MHD…
Electron Heating in the Fueling Region of C-2W
November 2025 | Y. Zhou | APS DPP 2025 | Poster
Fast ions confined by the FRC likely cause electrons in the FR to heat up and emit X-rays. We plan to identify the exact location of electron heating by improving the spatial resolution of the X-ray diagnostic. The X-ray diagnostic will also be used to study electron heating induced by an Electron Cyclotron Resonance…
Overview and Initial Results from the Bias Test Stand at TAE
November 2025 | W. Harris | APS DPP 2025 | Poster
The bias system in C-2W has a voltage limitation that is in-part due to arcing between electrodes. The Bias Test Stand (BTS) is a testbed built by TAE to study different electrode configurations and design features to reduce arcing.
Study of the fast-ion acceleration due to the beam-driven modes in C-2W
November 2025 | S. Kamio | APS DPP 2025 | Poster
In C-2U experiments, thermal ion acceleration by a beam-driven wave was observed [R. M. Magee et al. Nat. Phys. 15, 281–286 (2019)]. This thermal ion acceleration is pointed out to dramatically enhance the fusion rate because the beam energy is transferred to thermal ions, bypassing the electron channel…