Private Company Successfully Powers Lightbulb Using Electricity Harvested Directly from Fusion Reactions
Realta Fusion, a Wisconsin-based startup, has made a groundbreaking achievement in the field of fusion energy. The company announced that its demonstration fusion device, WHAM, successfully powered a lightbulb using electricity harvested directly from the fusion reactions. This milestone marks the first time a private company has publicly demonstrated such a feat, showcasing the potential of direct electricity generation from fusion reactions.
Source: techcrunch.com
According to Kieran Furlong, co-founder and CEO of Realta Fusion, the achievement demonstrates what is possible with direct electricity conversion. ‘We can take power from a plasma,’ Furlong explained. ‘This milestone shows what’s possible, and we’re excited about the prospects of scaling up this technology.’
Realta Fusion plans to use direct electricity conversion to heat the plasma in its reactor, a process that requires a lot of energy. Furlong estimates that direct conversion is about 90% efficient, meaning it will convert 90% of the potential energy into electricity. This is significantly more efficient than steam turbines in today’s fission reactors, which have an efficiency of about 33%. The more energy the company is able to harvest, the quicker it will get to profitability.
Every power plant consumes some of the power it produces simply to operate, and fusion reactors are no exception. The big challenge fusion startups face today is building reactors that can produce more energy than they consume. The efficiency boost from direct energy conversion should make clearing that hurdle easier.
About 20% of the energy from fusion reactions fueled by deuterium-tritium, the kind Realta plans to use in its commercial reactors, are charged helium nuclei known as alpha particles. The startup built a prototype electricity converter and attached it on the end of its reactor. There, it was able to harvest enough ‘alpha power’ to generate multiple amps of electricity at 100 volts, powering a few lightbulbs.
On a commercial scale power plant, the direct energy converters should provide enough energy to heat the plasma. ‘You’re basically able to recirculate the electricity,’ Furlong said. Ultimately, Furlong estimates that circularity could boost a commercial scale power plant’s total output by 20% to 30%. ‘Spinning a flywheel of electricity, if you like, is very beneficial,’ he said.
Though Realta Fusion might be the first to demonstrate direct energy conversion, it’s not the only startup planning to deploy that technology in its reactor. For Helion, the startup backed by Sam Altman, direct energy conversion is key to its plans, though it has yet to demonstrate it publicly. Harvesting electricity directly from the fusion reaction ‘really helps with the economics’ of a reactor’s design, Furlong said.
Realta Fusion previously raised $36 million in a Series A led by Future Ventures in 2025. Furlong said the company is in the midst of raising a new round.
