Fuse Energy Technologies Corp. Reports FAETON-X Single-Shot D-D Fusion Neutron Yield of 1.27×10¹²

Fuse Energy Technologies Corp., headquartered in California, USA, announced on August 11 that its megajoule-class dense plasma focus device FAETON-X measured a peak neutron yield of (1.27±0.27)×10¹² neutrons per shot in a single D-D fusion experiment. The company stated that this is one of the highest single-shot fusion neutron yields publicly recorded by a commercial fusion enterprise, and the first to reach the 10¹² order of magnitude.

FAETON-X is a megajoule-class pulsed-power fusion system developed by Fuse, designed as a single-pulse flash neutron source, serving pulsed-power fusion R&D and radiation effects testing. Published papers indicate that the device employs a 500-microfarad capacitor bank, consisting of 20 capacitors rated at 25 microfarads and 100 kilovolts, storing approximately 1 megajoule of energy at a 65-kilovolt charging voltage, with a peak discharge current exceeding 4.5 megaamperes and a static system inductance of approximately 55 nanohenries.

According to data released by the company, FAETON-X has not yet completed all preconditioning and conditioning procedures, but can already stably produce approximately 5×10¹¹ D-D neutrons per shot, achieving a peak result of (1.27±0.27)×10¹² neutrons per shot under 10 Torr deuterium gas conditions. The paper suggests that further device conditioning still leaves room for improvement in neutron yield.

The predecessor of FAETON-X is FAETON-I. The latter is a 100-kilovolt, 125-kilojoule dense plasma focus device with a peak current of approximately 1 megaampere, used to validate the correlation between dynamically induced pinch voltage and neutron yield. FAETON-X is a platform scaled up to the megajoule level based on this foundation, targeting higher fusion neutron output per unit stored energy under higher current and lower inductance conditions.

The paper states that FAETON-X achieves a current efficiency of 4.5 megaamperes per megajoule, higher than the published level of approximately 2.35 to 3.25 megaamperes per megajoule for comparable megajoule-class dense plasma focus devices. Since the neutron yield of pulsed-power Z-pinch devices is typically strongly correlated with drive current, increasing the peak current per unit stored energy is regarded as an important pathway to improving neutron output efficiency.

For comparison, the MJOLNIR dense plasma focus device at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has reported results of 1.2×10¹² D-D neutrons per shot under 1.3 megajoules of stored energy and 3.8 megaamperes of peak current. Fuse states that FAETON-X achieved 1.27×10¹² D-D neutrons per shot with approximately 1 megajoule of stored energy.

The company's Chief Executive Officer JC·Btaiche stated that FAETON-X took approximately 9 months from design to first test firing, and another approximately 9 months from first test firing to the current results. Btaiche stated that the company will continue to advance technology validation through paper publications and experimental data disclosure.

According to the future plans outlined in the paper, after further conditioning, FAETON-X is expected to achieve a neutron yield exceeding 2×10¹² neutrons per shot under D-D operating conditions; under D-T operating conditions, its design target is approximately 5×10¹³ neutrons per shot. The platform can also be used for R&D in diagnostic systems, trigger synchronization, radiation effects, shielding testing, tritium handling, and target design.