OpenStar Technologies (OpenStar) and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), formalizing a new partnership to advance scientific, academic and educational cooperation in the science and technology of fusion energy.
Under the MOU, OpenStar and PPPL intend to cooperate on research related to levitated-dipole fusion systems: an innovative approach to magnetic confinement under development by OpenStar. In a levitated-dipole device, a superconducting ring magnet floats freely inside the vacuum chamber, producing a magnetic field to hold the superheated plasma in place.
OpenStar aims to leverage the advantages of this approach, including inherent plasma stability and a modular design, which is predicted to allow straightforward maintenance at plant scale. The company has fully commissioned their first prototype device, Junior, and published designs for its grid-scale machine Tama Nui, demonstrating the concept's viability and laying the groundwork for a path to grid-scale energy. PPPL, a national laboratory funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by Princeton University, brings decades of expertise in plasma physics and fusion research to the partnership - expertise that can support OpenStar's development of the levitated dipole.
About OpenStar Technologies
OpenStar Technologies is a fusion energy company focused on developing levitated-dipole reactor technology as a pathway to commercial fusion power. The company is committed to advancing the scientific and engineering foundations necessary to make fusion energy a reality.
