Israel-based, NT-Tao wants to develop an innovative, “small”/ 10-20 MW (capable of powering an industrial site, shopping center, logistics warehouse or even a small town), high-density/ compact fusion reactor. <Quick primer: nuclear fusion by magnetic confinement is a process that consists of super-heating (within a Tokamak) small quantities of deuterium & tritium (two isotopes of hydrogen) so that they collide, merge & thus generate energy. The main limitation lies in the huge amount of energy needed to heat the reaction, while the probability of the isotopes colliding remains low>. NT-Tao seeks to “ultra-densify” the reaction process by housing within its Tokamak 1,000x more isotopes, which would multiply by a million the chances of collision (between them). In doing so, the startup has designed a magnetic chamber topology to significantly reduce energy loss due to drifts, instabilities & other plasma disruptions. For this, the firm relies on a new heating technology that generates ultra-dense plasma, which it calls “Super Stabilized Confined Plasma”. Founded in 2022 by Oded Gour-Lavie (CEO), Doron Weinfeld (Chief Scientist) & Boaz Weinfeld (CTO), NT-Toa aims to build a working prototype reactor in the next few years (it’s tech, beyond investor’s due diligence, has yet to be peer-reviewed), with a production series ready by the end of the decade. For now, funding goes towards constructing a new research center & expanding the team. <Source: techfundingnews.com, venturebeat.com, en.globes.co.il, prnewswire.com>
