EVERETT — Zap Energy, a leader in developing fission and fusion-based, carbon-free power, just secured federal approval for a new type of breakthrough capacitor that reaches an expected 20-year life cycle necessary to sustain fusion reactions for clean power generation.
The U.S. Department of Energy has approved two Zap Energy capacitor development milestones following review by an independent expert panel. The first approval is for the detailed design of a 35-kilovolt, actively cooled capacitor, projected to operate for 6 billion pulses at 10 Hz. Those 6 billion pulses are key to this capacitor testing approval, Zap Energy explains, saying commercial high-voltage pulsed power capacitors are typically rated for about 100,000 pulses. A fusion power plant operating at 10 pulses per second over a 20-year lifetime will need capacitors capable of roughly 6 billion pulses.
Department of Energy has approved two Zap Energy capacitor development milestones following review by an independent expert panel.
A conceptual image of a pulsed power layout in a future Zap fusion power plant shows the capacitors (teal) occupy a large portion of the fusion system footprint. In this design the fusion core is located a floor below the power supply. Graphic credit: Zap Energy