For fusion power aficionados, hitting “breakeven” is something of a Holy Grail: the point at which a fusion reaction produces more power than was required to ignite it. Only one scientific experiment, at the National Ignition Facility, has accomplished that feat, and it took over a decade of tweaking the system to achieve the monumental result.
“The day of the NIF result was, obviously, this incredibly celebrated scientific result. They all deserve Nobel Prizes,” Benj Conway, co-founder and CEO of Zap Energy, told TechCrunch. “But you know, the day after, the question is, well, so what? What next?”
And while the NIF has managed to improve upon its first result, its device is something of a dead end. It was meant to probe the limits of physics, not sell power to the grid.
For a startup like Zap, “so what” needs to have a better answer.
Advertisement
Zap’s answer, so far, is a new device it calls Century, for which it recently raised a $130 million Series D. After keeping Century under wraps for several months, the startup gave TechCrunch a peek under the hood, sharing exclusive details about its operation and what it hopes to learn by using it.
The Century prototype occupies about as much space as a double-decker bus.Image Credits:Zap Energy
Zap is taking a unique approach to fusion power known as sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch. Instead of using magnets or lasers to squeeze the plasma, it sends a bolt of electricity through a plasma stream. That current generates a magnetic field which compresses the plasma — the pinch — and ends up with fusion. The company had been studying the phenomenon through a series of devices at its facilities in Washington State.
But Century isn’t just another physics testbed, Conway said.
“Our focus is not just on physics, but also on systems engineering. We’re not just a plasma physics company. We’re developing all of the key enabling technologies that we’re going to need to deliver commercial fusion. We think that doing all of this in parallel — everything all-together, all-at-once type thing — is the fastest way to actually deliver a commercial product,” he said. “Century is the incarnation of that.”
Workers inspect capacitors on Century.Image Credits:Zap Energy
The demonstration device stands about a story and a half tall, and the liquid bismuth-lined reaction chamber inside is the size of a domestic water heater. Altogether, the key components occupy as much space as a double decker bus, and Zap thinks its commercial-scale module, which should produce 50-megawatts of electricity, will occupy a similar footprint.
To remain on track to a commercial power plant, Zap needs to hit three milestones: First, it needs to be able to generate high-voltage pulses frequently and continuously. A few weeks after it was turned on this summer, Century fired 1,080 consecutive pulses. So far, so good.
Advertisement
The next step is to demonstrate the technology for the Department of Energy, running the device for more than two hours by firing at ten second intervals to generate at least 1,000 plasma pulses. Ultimately, to operate as a commercial power plant, Zap’s reactor will need to spark 10 pulses per second for months on end.
Work continues on Zap Energy’s Century prototype.Image Credits:Zap Energy
After Century completes the demonstration for the Department of Energy, the team will add more liquid bismuth to the reaction chamber. The molten metal protects other parts of the device while absorbing heat that, in a commercial implementation, can be used to generate electricity. Century will be able to hold over one metric ton of the liquid metal, though for now it’s starting with 70 kg.
Lastly, the company needs to ensure that its electrodes, the parts that generate the electric pulses, can withstand the heat and particles unleashed by each fusion reaction. Those parts won’t last forever; all commercial power plants have to undergo maintenance at some point. The question is usually how frequently and for how long. Zap needs to ensure its most vulnerable parts can last long enough to make financial sense for power producers.
By next year, the company will increase the amount of electricity that’s delivered to the reaction chamber until it hits 100 kilowatts. Along the way, Conway expects the company will revamp the Century bit by bit. “Even though Century is one platform, one name, within it are multiple generations,” he said. “We iterate within the iterations.”
If Century works as planned, “my hope would be that we’re building a demo well in this decade,” Conway said. And if that goes well, commercial power plants should follow in the early 2030s.
Advertisement
A view of Century (right) and its power cabinets (left).Image Credits:Zap Energy
That’s a lot of “ifs,” something Conway acknowledges. “I’m convinced that when we cut the ribbon on our first power plant and we think about the hardest problems we’ve had to solve in the last five years, my guess is plasma physics and gain is on the list. But I bet there’s a lot of other stuff on the list as well.”
That “other stuff” might be what makes or breaks commercial fusion power.
“Fusion needs to compete with other ways of making electricity and heat. If fusion power plants cost a lot more than other ways of making electricity, there’s not going to be many of them. There may be one that we take our kids to and show on a school field trip, and that’s it,” Conway said. “The economics of these things is going to really matter.”
Early predictions: what can we expect at the big retailers?
(Image credit: Sony)
Now that Sony will be opening up regular PS5 Pro pre-orders and 30th Anniversary PS5 Slim pre-orders to other retailers, we can expect a flurry of action at the go-to places – on both sides of the Atlantic.
We’ve even got some retailer listing pages live and ready at the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and the EE Store in the UK (slightly strangely) or both the regular Pro and the Anniversary PS5 Slim too so we know where to point you and some important details on what to expect. We can interrogate them individually, and offer advice on maximizing your chances of getting the console you want.
Advertisement
It’s worth noting at this early stage that we don’t know exactly when all pre-orders for both will begin tomorrow at all retailers. For example, could UK retailers go live at midnight tonight? Maybe! We’ll be doing our best to cater for such an event. However, we do know a bit more about US retailers and times so we’ll be sure to cover that in this live blog to furnish you with the details you need.
So why are we getting prepared so early for this phase of pre-orders?
Well, as well as having the opportunity to place a regular PS5 Pro pre-order at your retailer of choice – exclusive to PlayStation Direct as they have been so far – there’s also another 30th Anniversary pre-order to look out for in the shape of the PS5 Slim Digital Edition bundle. While the PS5 Pro bundle took all the headlines last time, this PS5 Slim model, and its wider availability, will draw a lot of attention and demand.
Advertisement
We’re expecting that demand to manifest in some volatile stock levels and fierce competition: after all, it’s worth remembering that all of the current 30th Anniversary Collection hardware and accessories are totally sold out at PlayStation Direct (US and UK) and at any other retailers who had stock of the DualSense controller briefly.
As a result, if you’re eyeing up the PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary pre-order to get in on that retro PlayStation hardware action, then tomorrow is going to be an important day for you.
Hello! Welcome, pull up a chair, get comfortable, and settle in for our live coverage of the next phase of PS5 Pro pre-order and PS5 30th Anniversary Collection pre-order festivities.
Advertisement
We’re getting into position nice and early this time around and hope some extra preparation will help us, and you, navigate the action when it kicks in as the clock ticks over to October 10.
I’ll be covering retailer information for both regular PS5 Pro pre-orders, and the PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary console, as well as what we can expect, hope for, and prepare for in advance of pre-orders kicking off once again. Let’s get into it.
Our solar system has a wide variety of planet types, from tiny rocky Mercury to huge puffy gas giant Jupiter to distant ice giant Uranus. But beyond our own system, there are even more types of exoplanet out there, including water worlds covered in ocean and where life could potentially thrive. Now, researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified a new and exotic type of planet called a steam world, which has an atmosphere almost entirely composed of water vapor.
The planet, called GJ 9827 d, was examined by the Hubble Space Telescope earlier this year and had researchers so intrigued that they wanted to go back for a closer look using Webb. They found that the planet, which is around twice the size of Earth, had a very different atmosphere from the typical hydrogen and helium that is usually seen. Instead, it was full of hot steam.
“This is the first time we’re ever seeing something like this,” said researcher Eshan Raul of the University of Michigan in a statement. “To be clear, this planet isn’t hospitable to at least the types of life that we’re familiar with on Earth. The planet appears to be made mostly of hot water vapor, making it something we’re calling a ‘steam world.’”
To look at the planet’s atmosphere, the researchers used Webb’s Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument that can split light into different wavelengths to see what something is composed of in a technique called transmission spectroscopy. This is easier to do with lighter elements like hydrogen and helium, so being able to use this technique for a heavier element like water means scientists can now start to investigate more diverse planetary atmospheres.
Advertisement
“Now we’re finally pushing down into what these mysterious worlds with sizes between Earth and Neptune, for which we don’t have an example in our own solar system, are actually made of,” said fellow researcher Ryan MacDonald. “This is a crucial proving step towards detecting atmospheres on habitable exoplanets in the years to come.”
As this is such a new area of research, the discovery required new software written by the team so Raul, who is an undergraduate student, was the first person to see direct evidence that steam worlds existed.
“It was a very surreal moment,” said Raul, now a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We were searching specifically for water worlds because it was hypothesized that they could exist. If these are real, it really makes you wonder what else could be out there.”
Amazon’s Prime Day is still going on, however Samsung just upstaged Amazon with its own sale. Earlier we wrote about the Galaxy S24 Ultra deal that is pretty incredible. Now we’re seeing an even more impressive deal for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, specifically the 512GB model.
Right now, you can choose to get either up to $1,200 off via trade-in, or $450 in instant credit without a trade-in. But wait, it gets even better. If you choose an online exclusive color – Crafted Black or White – you get an additional $400 off. That makes the 512GB model just $1,269 without trading in a phone. And yes that is cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 256GB model, by almost $200.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the latest foldable from Samsung, and while it hasn’t changed much from its predecessor, Samsung is still far ahead of the competition in a lot of respects. Samsung did make the Galaxy Z Fold 6 a bit wider, so that front display isn’t quite as narrow, which is really nice. It also improved the battery life, while sticking with the same size battery. This was done by adding in a larger vapor chamber to help with heat.
In our review of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, we said that “Samsung continues to prove why it’s the market leader in foldables.” And that comes down to the software. While other foldables are ahead of Samsung, where the Galaxy Z Fold 6 really shines is in the software that is optimized for the foldable layout, and also in the polish of that software. Not to mention the fact that Samsung is offering 7 years of software updates to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The only other foldable that can quote that is the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Advertisement
At $1,269, this is a perfect time to jump into the world of foldables and check out the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Or even less if you opt to trade-in your current device.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login