Thea Energy is an American fusion power company based in New Jersey.[2] The company was founded in 2022 after a spin-out from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).[3] Its original name was Princeton Stellarators, Inc (PSI). Thea Energy's approach to commercial fusion is based on the stellarator approach using a unique set of all-planar electromagnetic coils. This all-planar coil approach was developed by PPPL and licensed by Thea Energy.[4][3]
In September 2024, Thea Energy announced it had raised US$20 million in a Series A funding round led by Prelude Ventures, with participation from 11.2 Capital, Anglo American, Hitachi Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Mercator Partners, Orion Industrial Ventures, and Starlight Ventures.[9] It was reported that proceeds will be used to construct and operate its proprietary superconducting planar coil magnet array systems, support the design and simulation of its large-scale integrated neutron source stellarator Eos, and expand its team.[10]
Thea Energy's approach is a variant of the stellarator in which the complex, modular electromagnetic coils are replaced by an array of small, simple, planar electromagnetic coils. This approach simplifies the design, allows for precise 3D control of the resultant magnetic field, and allows for increased access for system maintenance.[11][6][12][13]
As an intermediate step towards a fusion power plant, Thea is building Eos, a neutron source based on the same technology. Eos is intended to demonstrate the technology and generate near-term revenue.[11][13][14] It is expected to run sub-breakeven with respect to energy, but produce large numbers of neutrons for the creation of radioisotopes such as tritium and medical radioisotopes. The fuel for the neutron source will be deuterium rather than a mixture of deuterium and tritium.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
