US-based fusion company Stellarex and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a framework for collaboration and cooperation in the science and technology of fusion energy production. Stellarex and CNL will partner in specific areas of fusion energy science and technology towards the design and realisation of Stellarex’s planned fusion energy power plants.
Stellarex, founded in 2022, includes leading experts from Princeton University. The company is applying the stellarator approach, originally invented at Princeton University, to develop an economically attractive fusion energy system. Its aim is to develop and demonstrate a prototype commercial stellarator fusion pilot plant (SX1), capable of producing 250 MWe delivered to the grid within 12 years.
Specific areas of collaboration with CNL focus on fusion energy technologies for which CNL has world-leading expertise, including tritium-related systems associated with the fuel cycle, safety analysis, regulatory compliance, remote maintenance/inspection, materials analysis and waste processing. "Stellarex is delighted to be collaborating with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories,” said Professor Amitava Bhattacharjee, Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer of Stellarex. "CNL has exceptional experience in many key areas of importance in developing our stellarator fusion energy devices."
CNL Vice-President, Science & Technology Dr Stephen Bushby said Canada is in the midst of rapidly growing work in fusion energy technologies. “The Stellarex team has decades of accumulated fusion science and technology experience and expertise garnered from the leading fusion projects in the world,” he said. “CNL is looking forward to supporting their technology development with our extensive capabilities in the safe management of deuterium and tritium as well as our state-of-the-art research and development facilities for advanced reactor support and development.”
Stellarex Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Dr Michael Zarnstorff noted: “A key part of a fusion power plant is the auxiliary systems that support the operation of the device, particularly the fuel cycle, the maintenance systems, and plant safety systems.” The head of CNL’s Hydrogen & Tritium Technologies Directorate, Dr Ian Castillo, added: “We are looking forward to not only utilizing our tritium expertise to help Stellarex advance its technology, but also applying our extensive experience in operational reactors into the design of new fusion plants.”
Image: Stellarex Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dr Michael Zarnstorff, and CNL’s Head of Hydrogen and Tritium Technologies Directorate, Dr Ian Castillo, celebrate the signing of an MOU that provides a framework for Stellarex and CNL to collaborate on fusion research
