The two 2026 papers.
Two machines, two papers. The breeder paper closes its physics and states its economic structure; the burner paper closes its physics and keeps economics provisional. Both are in peer review.
- Paper 1
- HYPERION — the spherical-tokamak D–T breeder
- Paper 2
- The D–³He tandem-mirror burner (Aegis / MetroVolt)
- Status
- Submitted to IOP · peer review in progress
- Preprints
- arXiv links on posting
The 2026 publication set is two companion papers, matched to the two-machine strategy.
- Paper 1 — the breeder
- HYPERION's physics is closed (Q 3.424, 88.7 MW, 9.86 MA), and its economics are frozen as structure — the levers and the capital anchor — rather than as absolute margins. It is the buildable, commercially-grounded first machine.
- Paper 2 — the burner
- The tandem-mirror physics is closed at the Mode M closing point (Q_E 1.31, f_n 5.44%), stated with its plug-density requirement. Economics stay provisional — the capital anchor, the plug-reliability availability, and lunar helium-3 are named as open items.
The split is deliberate. The breeder is close enough to build that its economic structure is worth freezing; the burner's economics depend on inputs (helium-3 price and supply) that do not yet exist, so claiming them would be dishonest. Both papers carry generic machine descriptions; the product names (HYPERION, Aegis, MetroVolt) are used in outreach to help readers connect the machines.
Everything in both papers traces to the two open deposits, and the key results can be re-run in the live simulation.