Deuterium–Helium-3 (D–³He) Fuel
D–³He is the reason the burner can convert energy directly to electricity. It trades a far cleaner neutron budget for a much hotter, harder-to-confine plasma.
- Reaction
- D + ³He → &sup4;He + p
- Energy
- 18.3 MeV
- Neutron fraction
- 5.44%
- Temperature
- ~90 keV
Deuterium and helium-3 fuse to helium-4 and a proton, releasing 18.3 MeV as charged particles — which can be converted to electricity directly. The Kronos burner runs this reaction at about 90 keV with a neutron fraction of only 5.44%.
Because most of the energy is in charged particles, the burner uses direct energy conversion rather than a steam cycle. That is the architectural payoff of choosing this fuel.
D–³He is the reason the burner can convert energy directly: with 18.3 MeV released almost entirely as charged particles and a neutron fraction of only 5.44%, its energy can be recovered electrostatically instead of through a steam cycle. The price is a far hotter, harder-to-confine plasma at 90 keV.
Common questions
Its reaction peaks at a higher energy than D–T, so the burner operates at about 90 keV — far hotter and harder to confine. The payoff is charged-particle energy that direct conversion can capture.
The breeder co-produces about 1.97 kg/yr/yr, giving Kronos an internal terrestrial supply of a genuinely scarce isotope rather than depending on lunar mining or reactor by-product.