Fusion-Augmented Turbofan Propulsion for Sustainable Aviation

??????ProblemĀ-ĀHow to make long-range aviation zero emissions is an unsolved problem. The high energy and power density required to maintain expected speed and rangeĀmakes large airplanes difficult to decarbonize. Green hydrogen and electric-powered planes will only have the range to serve regional transport. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is simply aviation jet fuel derived from biomass with carbon offsets. SAF wonÆt solve the emissions problem and is 2-3x more expensive than regular jet fuel. Nuclear fission is driven to be exceedingly massive due to the shielding requirements. Any viable replacement solution to the problem also needs to be readily integrable with the existing airport and airplane manufacturing infrastructure.Ā SolutionĀ- We are developing an air-breathing fusion engine technology to replace the chemical energy in jet fuel. This could be a truly zero-emissions solution to commercialĀand military aviationĀ. Using aneutronic fusion, no radiation dosage to passengers or cargo would be incurred. Additionally, the system has the potential to serve as a single propulsion system for air and space that utilizes the existing aircraft and airport infrastructure which would truly make space travel commonplace.Ā TechnologyĀ- There are 40 venture-backed companies in the US working on fusion today, and several on compact fusion. Q>1 (ratio of energy out vs. energy in) has been achieved and we believe a few of these companies are going to achieve that in a compact form factor. The road to generating power at a market-viable price on the grid is long and non-obvious; given jet turbine engine efficiency (97%), we think it will be far quicker to monetize fusion technology by applying it to aviation. The core technology is a heat exchanger that integrates with a compact fusion reactor and existing jet turbine designs with minimum modifications. This heat exchanger is based on advanced thin film materials that are able to transmit energetic fusion plasma particles across a non-permeable barrier, while supporting large pressure differential with associated mechanical and thermal stresses.