AVALANCHE ENERGY DESIGNS INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: SCO213-001

Description

Avalanche Energy Designs Inc. offers its disruptive invention of a 5kWe micro-fusion reactor that is carbon-free, small and that has a high power density. The reactor confines ions electrostatically like an Orbitrap while overcoming space charge limits by co-confining electrons with a weak magnetic field like a Magnetron, hence the device is called an “Orbitron”. It can burn deuterium-tritium or aneutronic fuels (e.g., D-He3, p-B11), can last for at least one year with no disruptions and, with its 12cm of diameter and small size, has a weight-to-power ratio of 2.5kg/kWe, and needs no special material (U-235, Pu). This technology represents the best future alternative to solar power to supply all class of spacecrafts variants (ESPA-class 1/4, 1/2, full-ESPA, ESPA-Grande) being scalable and usable in series. The clean source of electric power and the extremely compact size of the Orbitron micro-fusion cell, make it extremely convenient considering launch costs per kg of payload and the cost per electric Watt.