Neutron Flux for Materials Qualification

Hyperion offers its 14 MeV flux as an irradiation service to qualify structural materials in a true fusion-neutron environment.

Qualifying materials for fusion, in fusion conditions

Fusion power plants will expose structural materials to intense 14 MeV neutron flux for years. Before any of those materials can be certified for service, they must be tested under representative irradiation — and until now there has been no dedicated facility providing fusion-energy neutrons in adequate quantity. Hyperion's flux is offered to fill that gap.

Test articles — candidate steels, tungsten and its alloys, silicon carbide composites, REBCO tape, ceramics, and joints — are placed in irradiation positions where they receive a known 14 MeV fluence. After irradiation they undergo post-irradiation examination: mechanical testing, microscopy, and measurement of swelling, embrittlement, and helium content.

What the service provides

• A genuine 14 MeV spectrum, not a fission surrogate
• Known, instrumented fluence and temperature conditions
• Access positions for third-party and program test articles
• Data to underpin materials qualification and licensing

The neutron-budget trade

Flux routed to irradiation ports is flux not available for breeding, so materials service competes with tritium production for the same neutron budget. The design balances dedicated test volume against blanket coverage. How much qualification flux can be offered while meeting breeding targets is a design-and-simulation allocation, firmed up as the machine is built.

This page describes a design-and-simulation study, not a built machine. Construction begins Q2 2027; first-of-a-kind (FOAK) first tritium is targeted near 2030. No net-gain claim is made before FOAK.