In a recent post I discussed Helion Energy, a spin-off company from John Slough‘s plasma physics group at the University of Washington, that is developing a nuclear fusion power system. They are aiming to have a commercial 50MW reactor in six years. 

Today comes word that they have raised $1.5M from Mithril Capital Management and Y Combinator venture capital firms:  More Valley investors are funding nuclear energy tech — Tech News and Analysis.

They apparently need a few tens of millions to get to a reactor but this is a start. Interesting that VC firms are willing to take a risk on such a project.

Helion Energy, a spin-off company from John Slough‘s plasma physics group at the University of Washington, has become very confident after building and operating several prototypes that their fusion design will lead to a low cost operational commercial nuclear fusion reactor within six years:

• Technology overview – Helion Energy
• Helion Energy now has a Helium 3 fuel cycle for its magneto-inertial fusion process – NextBigFuture.com

Here’s a cartoon diagram of their process:

Note that their system produces electricity by direct conversion, not by heating up a fluid and then using the fluid to run a generator. Direct conversion is the more efficient approach.

Also, the  D-He3 fusion reaction does not produce neutrons so there are no residual radiation problems.

The secretive Tri-Alpha  Energy company, a spin-off from a UC Irvine program, has a somewhat similar design to Helion and  has raised as much as $140M from Paul Allen and others. It would be interesting to know how close they are to a net energy producing reactor.

It’s been awhile since I posted on Carter Aviation Technologies and their slowed-rotor technology. Their Cartercopter may look like a gyroplane but the powered rotor with weighted tips allows it to takeoff and land vertically like a helicopter. And slowing the rotor down in flight allows the vehicle to achieve horizontal speeds comparable to a fixed wing airplane.

Their latest prototype has been performing well: Carter Aviation Breaks Five Aviation Records in Four Days – Carter Aviation – Jan.30.14 (pdf)

“We set an altitude record just shy of 18,000 ft, a Mu [advance ratio] record of Mu 1.13, slowed the rotor to a new minimum of 105 rpm, achieved a level 202 mph true speed on 325 hp at an aircraft test weight over 4000 lbs, and flew for well over an hour  representing our longest flight to  date,” exclaimed an excited Jay Carter. “We are expanding the envelope in baby steps and still have a ways to go. This aircraft should be able to fly up to 8 hours on its given fuel capacity, cruise at 220+ mph and up to 28,000 ft.” 

Here are a couple of videos of the prototype in flight tests: