SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (August 29, 2024) — Scientific journal, Nature Scientific Reports, published a peer-reviewed paper by Fuse Energy Technologies Corporation (Fuse) that details test results of its novel pulsed-power driver, TITAN, the world’s first high-energy and high-power impedance-matched Marx generator (IMG). Prior to Fuse’s paper, no scientific publications had documented a successfully engineered and tested IMG at high power.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67774-4
Fuse’s TITAN test results demonstrate groundbreaking advancements for the future of fusion commercialization, high-energy physics, and nuclear effects testing for both government and commercial customers. TITAN will play a vital role in delivering the immense energy required to initiate and sustain fusion reactions. Compared to common pulsed-power drivers, TITAN has longer lifetime, a higher repetition rate, a faster rise time, and high-energy delivery efficiency.
TITAN consists of more than 40,000 parts, 20,000 liters of oil, 640 liters of continuously recirculating deionized water, and weighs approximately 22 tons. In the published experiments, at six stages, TITAN was tested up to +/- 70-kV charge voltage, which consistently delivered a peak power of 330-GW to its 1.2-Ω resistive load. The experimental results correlate with the simulated results with greater than 99% accuracy.
The paper in Nature outlines TITAN’s use for the following applications:
Advancing the development of clean and limitless fusion energy
Studying materials under extreme conditions for the design of more durable systems
Producing high-intensity radiation for imaging, testing, and better design of materials and infrastructure
Ensuring the safety and reliability of the US nuclear deterrent
As part of its technology roadmap to the commercialization of fusion energy, Fuse plans to connect sixteen TITAN modules in parallel to create an intermediate next generation pulsed-power (NGPP) facility called “Z-Star.” Z-Star would allow Fuse to expand its base of U.S. government and commercial customers.
Fuse’s TITAN design and Z-Star plans are inspired by Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia)’s Z Machine and Sandia’s seminal publication on Impedance Matched Generators. The former Project Scientist and Program Manager of the Z Machine, Dr. Rick Spielman, who also co-authored the Nature paper with Fuse commented,
“Fuse has demonstrated the ability to control module triggering and control pulse shaping, with experimental results correlating with simulated results with over 99% accuracy. That the team went from initial design to physical testing with these results in less than 18-months is impressive.”
JC Btaiche, CEO of Fuse, remarked,
"The publication of our work in Nature is a testament to the hard work of our team and novel approach to pulsed-power. This recognition by the scientific community validates TITAN as a pathway to clean, reliable fusion energy."
Dr. Vahid Damideh, Chief Engineer of Fuse, stated,
“This milestone represents the convergence of decades of scientific research with Fuse’s results-driven engineering approach. Our work is accelerating the world’s transition to fusion energy while also addressing an unmet market need for pulsed-power technology.”
Fuse Energy Technologies, a Delaware-registered corporation, is accelerating the world's transition to fusion energy by securing clean, reliable, global energy abundance while also ensuring U.S. and Allied competitiveness through nuclear effects testing.