A New Zealand company is striving to recreate the energy of a star on Earth using a new type of fusion reactor.
In a warehouse in the capital city of Wellington, New Zealand, a startup is attempting to replicate the energy of a star on Earth by employing a new type of fusion reactor.
What is Fusion Energy?
The company’s goal is to produce nuclear fusion, a form of nearly limitless clean energy generated by a process that is the complete opposite of current nuclear energy methods.
This means that instead of splitting atoms, nuclear fusion combines them, mirroring how the Sun generates energy. This process creates a powerful energy flow that can be achieved by utilizing the most abundant element in the universe: hydrogen.
Openstar Technologies’ nuclear fusion reactor in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo: OpenStar Technologies).
Earlier this month, OpenStar Technologies announced that it had generated superheated plasma at a temperature of approximately 300,000 degrees Celsius—a significant milestone on the path to producing fusion energy.
Ratu Mataira, the founder and CEO of OpenStar, expressed that: “The first plasma is a truly important moment,” as it marks a milestone indicating that the company’s system is functioning effectively.
He added that achieving this took the company two years and around 10 million dollars, with the aim of making fusion energy technology cheaper and faster.
OpenStar is one of the few startups pushing for research and development in fusion energy, aiming to commercialize this energy source, even though it has not been fully proven to be feasible yet.
Fusion energy companies have attracted over 7.1 billion dollars in funding, according to the Fusion Industry Association. However, experts caution that the road ahead remains long and challenging.
Fusion—a process similar to the one that generates energy for the Sun and other stars—is often referred to as the “holy grail” of clean energy: it is nearly limitless, does not pollute the environment, and does not produce dangerous radioactive waste like fission reactions in current nuclear power plants.
This represents a leap forward in addressing the escalating climate crisis. It could provide stable and continuous energy without the need to build extensive new infrastructure. This means we can transition to clean energy without disrupting current lifestyles.
Nevertheless, generating fusion energy on Earth presents an incredibly significant challenge.
New Fusion Technology
The most common technology involves a reactor known as a tokamak, which is fueled by two forms of hydrogen gas—deuterium, which can be easily found in seawater, and tritium, extracted from lithium.
The temperature inside a tokamak reaches 150 million degrees, ten times hotter than the core of the Sun. At these extreme temperatures, hydrogen isotopes collide within the plasma, causing them to fuse and release a massive amount of energy.
The magnetic coils of the tokamak help keep the plasma from touching the walls of the device.
However, OpenStar’s technology is the opposite. Instead of having plasma inside the magnets, it has magnets inside the plasma.
Dynamic image inside OpenStar’s reactor. (Photo: OpenStar Technologies).
Its reactor features a powerful magnet suspended within a vacuum chamber approximately 16 feet wide. This configuration is inspired by natural phenomena, such as Earth’s magnetic field.
Physicist Akira Hasegawa proposed this concept in the 1980s, based on his research on plasma around Jupiter. The first machine applying these principles was developed at MIT in collaboration with Columbia University and became operational in 2004, but was shut down in 2011.
“The advantage of this reactor is its ability to rapidly repeat experiments and significantly improve performance,” Mataira stated. Compared to tokamaks, OpenStar’s technology is simpler and easier to repair in case of malfunction.
OpenStar has raised 12 million dollars and is preparing for a larger funding round, aiming to build two more prototypes within the next 2-4 years.
Fusion Energy Is Becoming More Feasible
OpenStar is just one of many startups in the fusion sector that have emerged over the past five years. Countries like China, the United States, and South Korea are also intensifying research and building fusion reactors, all achieving certain successes.
Advanced superconducting Tokamak research device in South Korea (KSTAR), referred to as “artificial sun”, at the Korea Fusion Energy Institute. (Photo: AFP).
Professor Gerald Navratil from Columbia University noted: “The field is advancing so rapidly that private investors are eager to pour funds into accelerating the research and development of this technology.”
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, leading with tokamak technology, has raised over 2 billion dollars. Meanwhile, other companies like OpenStar and Zap Energy are pursuing more unique approaches. Zap Energy is focusing on developing compact, scalable reactors that use pulsed power to create plasma.
Companies in this field are addressing the question: “When will fusion energy be ready?” OpenStar predicts within six years. Commonwealth Fusion states by early 2030. Zap Energy gives a similar response.
However, the UK Atomic Energy Authority indicates that the commercialization of fusion energy may not become a reality until the latter half of this century, due to significant scientific and engineering challenges.
Navratil shared that sometimes startups tend to “overstate what they can achieve.” Transitioning from theory to practice, especially in building a safe and reliable energy system, is an exceedingly complex process.
Nevertheless, Mataira believes that the race to develop fusion energy will create a dynamic competitive environment where companies learn from each other and collectively drive rapid progress.
