The Deuterium-Helium-3 Fuel Cycle
The burner (Aegis / MetroVolt) fuses deuterium with helium-3, a reaction whose main products are charged particles rather than neutrons.
A low-neutron reaction
The burner (Aegis / MetroVolt) is a tandem-mirror generator that fuses deuterium with helium-3. The primary reaction produces charged particles — a proton and a helium-4 nucleus — rather than a neutron. Charged particles can be converted directly to electricity, and the low neutron output eases materials and shielding demands. A residual neutron fraction of about 5.44% arises from side reactions.
Where the helium-3 comes from
Helium-3 is scarce on Earth, so the burner's fuel depends on a helium-3 source. In the Kronos picture that source is the breeder (Hyperion), which produces helium-3 in situ, complemented over the longer term by lunar helium-3. The two machines are thus linked: the breeder makes fuel the burner can use.
- Design plug field 26.49 T; throat field 17 T
- Neutron fraction about 5.44% — much lower than deuterium-tritium
- Direct energy conversion of charged products, no steam cycle required
- Housings: Aegis (fixed defense installations) and MetroVolt (data centers)
Honest gate
The burner is a design and simulation study, and its commercial fuel supply is gated on scaling helium-3 production; nothing here claims demonstrated net power. See the breeder's deuterium-tritium cycle and the Earth-Moon fuel picture.
Charged products, direct conversion
The appeal of deuterium-helium-3 is that its primary products are charged particles whose energy can be converted to electricity directly, without boiling water to drive a turbine. That both simplifies the plant and sharply reduces the neutron burden on materials. The trade is that helium-3 is scarce, which is precisely the problem the breeder is meant to solve by making the isotope on Earth.