Direct Energy Conversion
The burner turns charged-particle kinetic energy straight into electricity by decelerating ions against a voltage — no boiler, no turbine, almost no water.
Electricity without a steam cycle
A conventional thermal plant makes heat, boils water, spins a turbine, and condenses steam — a chain that is efficiency-limited by thermodynamics and thirsty for cooling water. The burner sidesteps most of it. Because the D-3He reaction is dominantly aneutronic, most fusion power emerges as fast charged particles. Charged particles can be decelerated against an electric field, delivering their energy directly to an electrode as electrical current.
How it works
The directed ion stream from the expander flies into a set of biased collector grids held at high voltage. Each ion climbs the potential hill, giving up kinetic energy, and is collected at a grid whose voltage matches its energy. Sorting ions by energy across staged grids keeps the conversion efficient across the ion energy spread.
Why it matters for siting
- No large steam cycle means near-zero water — the key to siting next to data centers
- Fewer thermodynamic losses on the charged-particle channel
- Output is DC, conditioned by power electronics for the grid
- The small neutron fraction (5.44%) still produces some heat, handled separately
Direct conversion is not a Kronos invention — it was demonstrated on mirror-machine exhaust decades ago at better than 50% efficiency. What the burner does is make it the primary power path by choosing an aneutronic-dominant fuel and a linear geometry whose exhaust is naturally directed. The residual neutron power is recovered thermally; see waste-heat management.