Deuterium Supply
Deuterium, the burner's other fuel, is a stable isotope of hydrogen extracted from ordinary water and available in effectively unlimited quantity.
The easy half of the fuel
Deuterium (2H or D) is a stable, naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron. It makes up about 156 parts per million of all hydrogen on Earth, which means every litre of ordinary water contains a small but recoverable amount. Because the oceans hold an enormous mass of hydrogen, the practical supply of deuterium is effectively inexhaustible and is not a strategic or scarce material.
Extraction
Deuterium is concentrated by well-established industrial processes. Chemical exchange (such as the Girdler sulfide process) and water distillation enrich water in the heavier HDO and D2O forms; electrolysis then liberates deuterium gas. These are mature technologies used for decades to make heavy water for other purposes. Nothing about Aegis requires a new deuterium industry — only access to an existing one.
- Deuterium is stable and non-radioactive
- Natural abundance ~156 ppm of hydrogen
- Extracted from water by exchange, distillation, and electrolysis
- Supply is effectively unlimited and non-strategic
This is why the burner's fuel-security conversation is really a helium-3 conversation. Deuterium is the reliable, abundant partner; the scarce, bred partner is helium-3. The two are stored, conditioned, and injected together, but their supply chains could not be more different.