Zap Energy unveiled its latest fusion device, Fuze-3, on Tuesday at a research meeting in Long Beach, California, marking the newest step in its quest to bring commercial fusion power to the grid. The startup is racing against several other companies aiming to launch fusion power plants in the early 2030s.
Fuze-3 has been generating pulses of plasma at Zap’s headquarters near Seattle. In recent tests, the device compressed plasma to more than 232,000 psi (1.6 GPa) and heated it to over 21 million degrees F (11.7 million degrees C). These figures set a record for Zap’s approach, known as a sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch, which uses electrodes to send electricity through plasma, generating a magnetic field that compresses and heats the plasma until fusion occurs.
While the results are not directly comparable with other fusion startups, because of differences in technology, they represent a crucial step toward achieving the triple product, the combination of temperature, pressure, and confinement time needed for a reactor to produce more energy than it consumes.
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According to Zap, the company still needs to increase plasma pressure by at least tenfold to reach scientific breakeven, a milestone only achieved by one other fusion experiment. Fuze-3 also brings Zap closer to a third key milestone identified by Bob Mumgaard, co-founder of competitor Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
The pressure record was achieved by adding a third electrode to the reactor design, allowing the device to use two pulses of input power instead of one. According to spokesperson Andy Freeborn, this approach gives the company more control over plasma behavior. He noted that while the chamber itself looks similar to previous designs, its operation has changed significantly.
Zap Energy said it is preparing a new generation of Fuze devices, expected to come online this winter, as it continues advancing toward commercial fusion power.
