Zap Energy
TypePrivate
IndustryEnergy
Founded2017 (2017)
Headquarters
Seattle, Washington
,
US
Key people
Benj Conway (President, CEO), Brian A. Nelson (CTO), Uri Shumlak (CSO)
Number of employees
150 (2023)
Websitewww.zapenergy.com

Zap Energy is an American company that aims to commercialize fusion power through use of a sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch. The company is based near Seattle with research facilities in Everett and Mukilteo, Washington.[1] The company aims to scale their technology to maintain plasma stability at increasingly higher energy levels, with the goal of achieving scientific breakeven and eventual commercial profitability.[2][3][4]

The conceptual basis for the technology was developed at the University of Washington led by Uri Shumlak. Zap Energy formed following the positive initial results achieved by the FuZE device as part of ARPA-E's ALPHA program. The company was co-founded by British entrepreneur and investor Benj Conway (President, CEO), together with nuclear physicists Brian A. Nelson (Chief Technology Officer) and Uri Shumlak (Chief Science Officer).[5]

Sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion

Normal pinch plasma will form instabilities such as the ones shown above, which will disrupt the plasma.

The pinch effect relies on the fact that a current flowing in a conductor produces an inward-directed force, squeezing the conductor. In the case of a fusion device, the conductor is a plasma of the fusion fuel. The current is induced either using an external magnet, or directly applied using electrodes in the reaction chamber. The device's relative simplicity led many researchers around the world to build pinch systems.

In early experiments, pinch systems were found to be unstable and the plasma was quickly forced into the walls of the reaction chamber, cooling it so that fusion does not occur. This led to the development of stabilized pinch machines, most notably the UK's ZETA. At first it appeared these designs were free from the instabilities of the earlier devices. However, further investigation showed that new "microinstabilities" were just as effective at destroying confinement as the earlier, larger, instabilities had been. With no obvious solution to these new class of problems, major research on the classic pinch devices ended by the early 1960s.

The idea of using the flow of the plasma as an additional stabilizing force emerged in the 1990s. In this concept, the pinch is developed such that the plasma flows at different speeds as one moves out from the center of the plasma column, with the outer layers being about ten times as fast as the center.[6] As the magnetic field created by the pinch current is a function of both the density and speed of the charges, this causes the resulting pinch field to be non-linear across the plasma column. This surpasses the growth rate of the kink, sausage and interchange instabilities. The exact conditions that need to be reached to stabilize the pinch is an open area of research.[7][8]

History

A cartoon of the four-step process for pinch assembly.[9][10] A voltage is applied to the center cathode, which is a copper tube, encased in tungsten-carbide. Fusion fuel is pumped into the back of the chamber which is ionized using Paschen breakdown. A Lorenz force sweeps this plasma forward, assembling the pinch between the cathode and the wall. Current flows from the cathode along the plasma to the grounded end cap, ions, move in the other direction.

Zap Energy's technical origins rely on the work of Dr. Uri Shumlak at the University of Washington, starting in 1995. The university built three experimental machines to test the flowing pinch:

  • ZaP (1998-2012 at UW)[11][10]
  • ZaP-HD (2012-present at UW)
  • FuZE (2015-2020 at UW; 2021-present at Zap Energy)[12]

The Shumlak lab developed custom tools to measure their plasmas.[13]

Zap Energy was founded in 2017 as a spin-off from the FuZE (Fusion Z-pinch Experiment) research team at the University of Washington and collaborations with researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.[14] Zap Energy then built a next generation fusion core, FuZE-Q (2021-present at Zap Energy). Zap achieved their first fusion reaction as a company in 2018,[15] but in November of 2021, Livermore National Laboratory provided an independent and more precise measurement of neutron production inside the flowing pinch, proving that the machine can do fusion with deuterium fuel.[16] The effort was led by ARPA-E, where the agency organized fusion teams to support private fusion companies.

An example of a flowing pinch formed on the FUZE device. Here a pinched plasma 50 cm long and 0.6 cm wide flows across an electrode gap.
An example of a flowing pinch formed on the FUZE device. Here a pinched plasma 50 cm long and 0.6 cm wide flows across an electrode gap.[17]

From 2015 to 2020, a series of U.S. Department of Energy grants enabled the team to test their sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch reactor at progressively higher energy levels.[18][19][20][21]

In July 2020, Zap Energy raised $6.5 million in Series A funding.[22]

In May 2021 Zap closed $27.5 million in Series B funding including from Addition, Energy Impact Partners, Chevron Technology Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital.[23] [5][24] Chevron's financing was the first investment in fusion energy by a major U.S. oil company.[25][26]

In June 2022, Zap Energy announced first plasmas in their breakeven device (FuZE-Q) and a $160 million Series C raise backed by Lowercarbon Capital, Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shell PLC, Valor, DCVC, Energy Impact Partners, Chevron and others.[27][28]

In October 2022, the Centralia Coal Transition Energy Technology Board recently awarded a $1 million grant to Zap Energy to fund the costs of assessing the feasibility of constructing a Zap fusion energy pilot plant at the site of the TransAlta Big Hanaford gas power plant.[29]

In May 2023, Zap Energy was one of eight companies chosen for the United States Department of Energy Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.[30][31]

In June 2023, Zap Energy secured significant new repetitive pulsed power manufacturing capabilities by acquiring the liquidated assets of ICAR.[32] Also in June, Zap Energy was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Unicorn, valued at more than one billion USD.[33]

Design

A CAD drawing of the sheared-flow stabilized Z pinch device
A CAD drawing of the sheared-flow stabilized Z pinch device

The Zap Energy reactor is a pulsed power system with no external magnets.[1][34][12] The machine is a ~2 meter long metal tube with a cathode running halfway down the middle. A voltage is applied between the central cathode and the grounded wall. Fusion fuel is puffed in the back of the machine, which ionizes due to Paschen breakdown, creating a plasma.[17] This plasma sweeps forward and assembles into a ~50 cm long flowing pinch in the gap between the cathode and the wall.

Testing

Zap Energy has outfitted these machines with tools to measure the performance of the flowing pinch. Among them includes:

  • Ion Spectroscopy measures the plasma temperature and in the flowing pinches' case, it measures the emissions from Carbon-III impurities inside the plasma.[13]
  • Fast Cameras get photos and video of the pinch performance. In 2019, the team used a 5 million frame per second camera made by Kirana.
  • Interferometry measures the plasma density across the flowing pinch. The tool passes a test laser beam through the plasma and compares it to a reference beam.[35] This tool can only measure densities along the narrow path where the laser travels (known as a Chord).
  • Magnetic Field Probes line the surface of the tube to measure the field generated by the flowing pinch current.[36]

Other diagnostic tools have been used to measure the pinches, many in partnership with experimenters from national laboratories.

Scaling up

A model of scaling up the current inside the flowing pinch.
A model of scaling up the current inside the flowing pinch.

Zap Energy argued that the rate of fusion in a flowing pinch scales as the pinch current to the 11th power[37][38][39] and that because of this, all that is needed to generate net power from a flowing pinch is higher current. However, this scaling model is based on adiabatic plasmas and that model fails to capture all real-world behavior.

Critics have pointed out that higher currents could introduce drift instabilities and shockwaves that could tear the plasma apart.[39] In the case of drift waves, the (+) ions and (-) electrons would move at different speeds because of their mass differences, and this would disrupt the plasma. Shockwaves could form during the pinch assembly process. When the plasma sweeps together at high speeds, the two plasma waves could form a shockwave at higher speeds. Finding other ways to form the pinch plasma are possible solutions to this problem.

Supporting simulations have argued that to reach net power ~650 kiloamps (kA) of current is needed through the flowing pinch. As of late 2021 the company was testing with currents reaching 500 kA.[40]

Device

Zap Energy proposed to surround the pinch with a molten blanket to absorb the material coming off the pinch. This approach is similar to those proposed by First Light Fusion and General Fusion.

Challenges

The higher pinch currents that are needed for scale-up introduce the possibility of electrode melting and electrode erosion. This kind of erosion has been researched extensively within the field of spacecraft electric propulsion. In 2021, Zap's cathodes were made from copper coated with Tungsten carbide, which has a maximum melting point of 3,103 kelvin.[41] Materials like graphene are a possible solution. The machines could be built with bigger spot sizes, active cooling or another work-around.

Another critique is that the volume of plasma inside the narrow pinch beam is relatively small when compared to fusion machines such as magnetic mirrors, tokamaks or other fusion approaches. This caps the amount of fusion fuel, and subsequently, the amount of energy that can be made in a flowing pinch. Higher shot rates, multiple machines, and longer and wider pinch beams are all possible solutions.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Clynes, Tom (2021-12-27). "Magnetic-Confinement Fusion Without the Magnets". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  2. ↑ Scoles, Sarah (2022-05-16). "ARPA–E program brings diagnostics to fusion companies". Physics Today. 2022 (2): 0316a. doi:10.1063/PT.6.2.20220316a. S2CID 247502830. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  3. ↑ Lavars, Nick (2019-04-11). "Nuclear fusion breakthrough breathes life into the overlooked Z-pinch approach". New Atlas. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  4. ↑ Mitrani, James M.; Brown, Joshua A.; Goldblum, Bethany L.; Laplace, Thibault A.; Claveau, Elliot L.; Draper, Zack T.; Forbes, Eleanor G.; Golingo, Ray P.; Mclean, Harry S.; Nelson, Brian A.; Shumlak, Uri; Stepanov, Anton; Weber, Tobin R.; Zhang, Yue; Higginson, Drew P. (2021-11-23). "Thermonuclear neutron emission from a sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinch". Physics of Plasmas. 28 (112509): 112509. Bibcode:2021PhPl...28k2509M. doi:10.1063/5.0066257. OSTI 1860884. S2CID 244540270.
  5. 1 2 "Zap Energy Raises $27.5 Million to Advance Reactor Technology" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Zap Energy. 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  6. ↑ Shumlak, U., and C. W. Hartman. "Sheared flow stabilization of the m= 1 kink mode in Z pinches." Physical review letters 75.18 (1995): 3285. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.75.3285
  7. ↑ Angus, J. R., et al. "Eigenmode analysis of the sheared-flow Z-pinch." Physics of Plasmas 27.12 (2020): 122108.
  8. ↑ Arber, T. D., and D. F. Howell. "The effect of sheared axial flow on the linear stability of the Z‐pinch." Physics of Plasmas 3.2 (1996): 554-560
  9. ↑ Shumlak, Uri, et al. "Increasing plasma parameters using sheared flow stabilization of a Z-pinch." Physics of Plasmas 24.5 (2017): 055702.
  10. 1 2 Shear flow stabilization of Z -pinches Paraschiv, Ioana. University of Nevada, Reno ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, Degree Year 2007. 3264527.
  11. ↑ Shumlak, U., et al. "Evidence of stabilization in the Z-pinch." Physical review letters 87.20 (2001): 205005 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.205005
  12. 1 2 Zhang, Y.; Shumlak, U.; Nelson, B. A.; Golingo, R. P.; Weber, T. R.; Stepanov, A. D.; Claveau, E. L.; Forbes, E. G.; Draper, Z. T. (2019-04-04). "Sustained Neutron Production from a Sheared-Flow Stabilized Z Pinch". Physical Review Letters. 122 (13): 135001. arXiv:1806.05894. Bibcode:2019PhRvL.122m5001Z. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.135001. ISSN 0031-9007. PMID 31012637. S2CID 51680710.
  13. 1 2 Forbes, E. G., and U. Shumlak. "Spatio-temporal ion temperature and velocity measurements in a Z pinch using fast-framing spectroscopy." Review of Scientific Instruments 91.8 (2020): 083104. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0012255
  14. ↑ Bouchegnies, Debra (2021-04-22). "University of Washington spinoff, Zap Energy, on track to power the planet" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: University of Washington. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  15. ↑ Wright, Katherine (2019-04-04). "Igniting Fusion in the Lab". APS Physics. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  16. ↑ Mitrani, James M., et al. "Thermonuclear neutron emission from a sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinch." Physics of Plasmas 28.11 (2021): 112509. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0066257
  17. 1 2 Center. CENPA Seminar - Yue Zhang - Sustained Neutron Production from a Sheared-Flow-Stabilized Z Pinch. YouTube. Published online August 12, 2019. Accessed April 21, 2022.
  18. ↑ Jennifer, Langston (2015-06-02). "UW researchers scaling up fusion hopes with DOE grant". University of Washington. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  19. ↑ "Flow Z-Pinch for Fusion". ARPA-E. 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  20. ↑ "Electrode Technology Development for the Sheared-Flow Z-Pinch Fusion Reactor". ARPA-E. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  21. ↑ "Sheared Flow Stabilized Z-Pinch Performance Improvement". ARPA-E. 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  22. ↑ Iancongelo, David (2020-08-17). "Oil giants are backing fusion: A CO2 turning point?". Politico Pro. Politico ENERGYWIRE. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  23. ↑ Soper, Taylor (2021-05-19). "Seattle startup Zap Energy lands $27.5M to build commercial fusion reactor without magnets". GeekWire. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  24. ↑ "EIP Launches New Fund to Scale the Boldest Ideas in Climate Tech" (Press release). Businesswire. 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  25. ↑ "Oil major Chevron invests in nuclear fusion startup Zap Energy". Reuters. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  26. ↑ "Chevron Invests in Nuclear Fusion Start-up". Chevron. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  27. ↑ Markoff, John (22 June 2022). "A Big Step Toward Fusion Energy is Hailed by a Seattle Start-Up". The New York Times.
  28. ↑ "With first plasmas in next-generation fusion device and fresh capital, Zap Energy advances toward scientific breakeven".
  29. ↑ staff, The Chronicle (October 21, 2022). "Zap Energy Awarded $1M From Centralia Coal Transition Board to Assess Fusion Power Plant Plans". The Daily Chronicle.
  30. ↑ "DOE Announces $46 Million for Commercial Fusion Energy Development". Energy.gov.
  31. ↑ Wang, Brian (2023-05-31). "Eight Nuclear Fusion Companies Get a Total of $46 Million | NextBigFuture.com". Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  32. ↑ "Zap Energy secures power supply manufacturing capabilities with acquisition of liquidated ICAR assets". www.businesswire.com. June 14, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Unicorns". World Economic Forum.
  34. ↑ Nuttall, William J; Konishi, Satoshi; Takeda, Shutaro; Webbe-Wood, David (Dec 2020). Commercialising Fusion Energy. IOP Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7503-2719-0. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  35. ↑ Harilal, S. S., and M. S. Tillack. "Laser plasma density measurements using interferometry." Fusion Division, Center for Energy Research. Univ. California, 2004.
  36. ↑ Shumlak, U., et al. "Evidence of stabilization in the Z-pinch." Physical review letters 87.20 (2001): 205005. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.205005
  37. ↑ Shumlak, Uri, et al. "Increasing plasma parameters using sheared flow stabilization of a Z-pinch." Physics of Plasmas 24.5 (2017): 055702. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4977468
  38. ↑ Center. CENPA Seminar - Yue Zhang - Sustained Neutron Production from a Sheared-Flow-Stabilized Z Pinch. YouTube. Published online August 12, 2019. Accessed March 25, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b21pxLKnQ30
  39. 1 2 Shumlak, U. (27 May 2020). "Z-pinch fusion". Journal of Applied Physics. AIP Publishing. 127 (20): 200901. Bibcode:2020JAP...127t0901S. doi:10.1063/5.0004228.
  40. ↑ Kennedy K. Eric Meier: Modeling Plasma Physics in the Z-pinch Fusion Concept. YouTube. Published online March 7, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O96MQtpU9Gs
  41. ↑ Haynes, William M., ed. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (92nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 4.96. ISBN 1-4398-5511-0
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