Direct Energy Conversion (DEC)
Turning charged-particle energy straight into electricity, skipping the steam cycle.
Direct energy conversion decelerates the plasma's escaping charged particles against an electric field, recovering their kinetic energy as electricity without a thermal cycle. It only works when most of the fusion energy is in charged particles — as in D–³He.
The Kronos burner's DEC stage operates at about 0.70 efficiency, which is what lets it quote an engineering gain of QE = 1.31.
Why it beats a steam cycle
A thermal plant is bounded by the Carnot limit: it turns heat into electricity at an efficiency set by its temperatures, typically 30–40%. Direct conversion sidesteps that ceiling entirely by decelerating charged particles against an electric field, recovering their kinetic energy as current at about 0.70. It only works when most of the fusion energy is in charged particles — which is precisely why the burner uses low-neutron D–³He.
Direct conversion is the burner's signature advantage: by decelerating escaping ions against a biased electrode array, it recovers their energy as electricity at about 0.70, sidestepping the Carnot-limited steam cycle entirely. It only works because D–³He keeps most of the fusion energy in charged particles rather than neutrons.
Common questions
About 0.70 — well above a Carnot-limited steam cycle, because it never converts the energy to heat first.
Because ~80% of D–T energy is in neutrons, which are uncharged and cannot be decelerated electrostatically. Direct conversion needs a charged-particle-dominated fuel like D–³He.