The Rise of High-Field Superconductors
How REBCO tape changed what a compact fusion machine can be.
For decades, fusion magnets used low-temperature superconductors capped near modest fields. The maturing of REBCO high-temperature tape — carrying huge currents at very high field — lifted that cap, enabling the 16.84 T breeder and 26.49 T burner fields that make a compact machine credible.
High-field magnets are the single technology most responsible for the compact-fusion moment Kronos is built for.
Common questions
REBCO tape carries current and field older superconductors could not, letting compact machines reach 16.84 T — shrinking machine size and cost, since both fall steeply with field.
Because both Kronos machines depend on high field: the compact breeder and the mirror-plugging burner alike only work with REBCO-class magnets.