It’s not every day you hear about companies locking in fuel for fusion energy. TAE Technologies, a fusion energy company, has signed an agreement with Black Moon Energy Corporation, or BMEC to set up a prospective helium-3 fuel supply option and a commercial development collaboration. Under the agreement, BMEC would supply the helium-3 fuel to TAE.

“This agreement can facilitate our path to power by providing an alternative fuel supply option,” said TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer. “TAE has a high degree of flexibility to select from the most cost-competitive fuel cycle, whereas many other fusion machines are able to operate only on the deuterium-tritium cycle; this provides TAE’s technology with future flexibility, depending on how fuel markets change over the long-run”.

Laying the Groundwork

For fusion to actually work on a large scale, the fuel has to be there when we need it.

“Developing a future supply chain for fusion fuels is a critical component of bringing fusion power to market,” said David Warden, CEO, Black Moon Energy Corporation. “By working with TAE, we are helping establish the commercial framework needed to support next-generation energy systems”.

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Fueling Fusion Power

Photo: TAE Technologies

TAE spent nearly 30 years on research and development. The company successfully built five fusion machines along the way. Now, they are getting ready to construct their first actual fusion power plant, called Da Vinci. The company expects to pick a location for Da Vinci later this year.

The fusion power plant is expected to generate 50 MWe of electricity. It will serve as the starting point for future commercial-scale fusion facilities, which are designed to eventually scale to 350–500 MWe. Operations for the first plant are expected to begin in 2031.

TAE uses a proprietary field-reversed configuration approach designed to safely create clean, carbon-free energy. Right now, its sixth-generation machine, Norm, is helping support the development of Da Vinci. TAE also expects its tech advances to yield near-term commercial options through TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.