What is plasma-based technology?

A plasma is created when a gas absorbs enough energy to separate the electrons from the nuclei, making it susceptible to electric and magnetic fields.

 What is fusion?

Fusion occurs when two light elements combine to form heavier elements.  This process is exothermic, meaning that it releases large amounts of energy.

 What is advanced fuel fusion?

Advanced fuel fusion makes only charged particles like ⁴He.   These charged particles are not radioactive and they don’t induce radioactivity in other materials.  Our system uses the p-¹¹B reaction which makes three ⁴He.

 What is electrostatic confinement?

Most fusion devices confine a plasma with magnetic fields.  In general, electrostatic confinement devices confine plasma with electrostatic fields or a combination of electrostatic and magnetic fields.  Our device uses both electrostatic fields and magnetic fields.

 What are the advantages of electrostatic confinement?

It’s easier to make a high energy plasma with electrostatic confinement.  Advanced fuel fusion requires a high energy plasma.  Also, these systems can be made small.

What makes plasma-based technology different from the current HVDC converters?

Our simplified hardware uses no capacitors or semiconductor switches. The device will rely on helical coils that induce output current and voltage through electrodes at the ends of plasma.

What advantages does HVDC have over AC?

Plasma-based electrical transformers have the potential to reduce the cost of transforming power by a factor of 2x-10x. HVDC cables can carry power 2-3 times farther over land than AC. HVDC also works better for underwater transmission than long AC lines, which require variable reactive power compensation and have higher line losses. With plasma-based devices, higher voltage actually improves efficiencies.

What makes this plasma-based electrical transformer a disruptive technology?

Disruptive technology has the potential to turn the current market upside down. Our innovations will make long distance transmission of electricity a lot more affordable, allowing increased access to renewable energy sources.

How does it work?

The prototype uses 3 helical electrodes placed inside a cylindrical vacuum chamber, with 2 DC electrodes as end caps, and a solenoid coil wrapped around the outside of the cylinder.

How much will it cost to scale up the technology for large scale manufacturing?

TPTI Estimates that scaling up to a large scale manufacturing facility will require $50 million.

How much will the plasma-based electrical transformers cost?

Our best estimates show that the devices will cost $65/installed KW with margins that will fund future growth.

What other applications besides HVDC could use the 3-phase DC transformers?

The transformers have potential for use in electric car charging, micro grids, data centers, and in large, electrified platforms for transportation such as ships and trains.

How fast is the HVDC converter market growing?

Due to many factors, including increased use of wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources, continued population growth, and increased demand for power worldwide, the market is estimated to grow to $10.7 billion by 2022 (9.8% CAGR).