Roadmap: 3D Model to FOAK
The path from today's three-dimensional model to an operational twin at first-of-a-kind runs through simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and commissioning.
Where the twin is now
Today the Kronos artifact is a high-fidelity three-dimensional model of the Hyperion breeder and the burner: rich in geometry and physics, but a simulation, not a twin, because no physical machine yet feeds it data. The roadmap below describes how that model becomes a predictive twin, keeping each step honest about what has and has not been proven. The machines are not built; construction begins in the second quarter of 2027 and first tritium for the first breeder is targeted near 2030.
Stage 1: physics-complete model, now
Assemble and verify the coupled physics, plasma, magnets, neutronics, thermal, and structural, and cross-check against related experiments and published data. Build surrogates and prove the assimilation, control, and life-tracking machinery on synthetic data through observing-system simulation experiments. This is design-stage work, establishing method without claiming plant-level validation.
Stage 2: control and twin software, through construction
- Harden the real-time estimation and control software
- Validate timing and failure behavior with hardware-in-the-loop testing
- Develop operating procedures and the training simulator
- Fix data standards, pipelines, and governance before hardware exists
Stage 3: commissioning at first-of-a-kind
When the first breeder is built and begins operation, the twin is connected to real sensors and calibrated to the real machine for the first time. Predictions are compared to reality, models are corrected, and the validated domain begins to be established from operating data. This is when the simulation genuinely becomes a twin. No hardware net-gain claim is made before this milestone.
Stage 4: operation and fleet, beyond FOAK
In operation the twin is used and continuously updated, its uncertainty shrinking as data accrues. As further breeder units and the burner fleet, in Aegis and MetroVolt housings, come online, per-unit twins share learned patterns while each keeps its own history. The roadmap ends not at a fixed point but at a maintained, evolving twin that lives as long as the machines. See twin governance and validation.