Kyoto Fusioneering begins work on Unity-3, a key fusion fuel-cycle device

Kyoto Fusioneering has started work on Unity-3, a prototype fuel breeding device being developed with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. TechCrunch reports the Japan-based company landed grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the state of Tennessee for the project. The company also exclusively told TechCrunch that it is moving its U.S. headquarters to Oak Ridge.

Fusion reactors get most of the spotlight, but future power plants will need complex supporting systems to operate for long periods. Unity-3 is designed to test fuel-cycle technology known as a breeding blanket, which harvests energy from a fusion reactor while generating fresh fusion fuel. The device is intended to help researchers and startups validate data that has largely come from computer models.

One breeding blanket design described by TechCrunch uses liquid lithium to absorb heat and neutrons. When lithium atoms are bombarded with neutrons, they split into helium and tritium, an isotope of hydrogen used as fuel in many reactor designs. The tritium is separated and sent to the reactor, while heat is extracted to generate power.

Kyoto Fusioneering is positioning itself as a major specialist in the emerging fusion-power supply chain. The company is also developing systems to heat fusion fuel into plasma, recycle unburned fuel from exhaust, and harvest heat to generate electricity. TechCrunch reports that startups including Realta Fusion, Thea Energy, Type One Energy, and Xcimer Energy will use data from Unity-3 experiments to inform reactor designs.