INNOVATION January-February 2012

Trained in aerospace engineering and engineering physics, Kostka was formerly employed in fuel injection technology development. He recalls, “When I came for a job interview [at General Fusion], I saw the president turning a screwdriver and I just knew I had to work here.” A full-scale proof-of-concept prototype is planned for 2014. This prototype will combine a larger vortex vessel and compression system (200 pistons) with a pair of plasma injectors. The prototype is expected to show a net gain in energy, and another prototype for electrical power production is to be built later. For over half a century, many scientific and engineering teams have pursued the vision of clean, inexhaustible fusion power. Will upstart General Fusion achieve a net energy gain in two years, and will it then advance to generating electricity from tiny amounts of cheap fuel? With the money and man-hours invested, there can be little doubt that the stakes are high. But it is believable that perhaps this potent combination of maverick scientists and engineering ingenuity may be just what is needed to make the vision a reality, as this is one BC company that appears to be on a fast track toward a new energy future. v

plasma at unprecedented temperatures and densities, the size of the pumped lead-lithium system, and the way it will operate in a shock environment. Asked about the role of engineers, Delage explains, “Engineers are responsible for designing, implementing and having manufactured (or manufacturing internally) all components…There is a great deal of overlap [with scientists.] Engineers are expected to contribute at a conceptual level to large-scale designs. Our team leaders/ project managers are all engineers.” In an adjacent building, a 3 m diameter stainless steel “mini-sphere” with an array of 14 pistons is being assembled. It was designed by Peter Kostka PEng and his team. A large stainless steel tank with piping has been fabricated and installed to circulate the molten lead and lithium. This setup will test the formation and symmetrical collapse of a liquid metal vortex. Kostka’s team is handling all the piston and liquid metal development. The large pistons move at 50 m/s which Kostka describes as “a speed between industrial and ballistic.” They operate in microseconds and include piezoelectric brakes. Kostka says computer simulations have been useful for lead flow and pressure wave dynamics.

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