Part 7/12:
The machinery involves sophisticated real-time control systems, with thousands of high-speed switches programmed via FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) technology, and advanced diagnostics to monitor plasma conditions at microsecond timescales.
The Roadmap to Commercial Fusion: Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing
A key insight from Helion’s approach is its emphasis on rapid iteration and manufacturing efficiency. The company has built seven prototypes, each roughly correlating with different stages of scaling, culminating in the Trenta system, which achieved 100 million degrees Celsius and demonstrated deuterium-helium-3 fusion.