Blue Origin vets unveil startup seeking small solution to massive challenge of fusion energy
Summary
A few weeks ago, Langtry and Riordan generated their first neutrons via fusion.Avalanche Energy launched in 2018 and this summer it opened its research facility just down the street from Seattles Museum of Flight and the original Boeing site. They estimate it would take six of the devices, for example, to power a passenger car.Lubos Brieda, president of Particle in Cell Consulting, provided a third-party evaluation of the startups proof of concept. The Los Angeles-area engineer is bullish on the small-scale approach to fusion.The future, he said, is in these small reactors.Nuclear fusion a carbon-free, infinite source of power thats safer than atom-splitting fission has for decades been the Holy Grail of the energy sector. Now VC dollars are backing smaller, private efforts as the world scrambles to create and deploy new clean-tech and climate tech to forestall the most dire impacts of global warming. That field was once largely dominated by federal research, but now private companies such as Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Rocket Lab are generating headlines that used to come only from NASA.I think that our timing was just perfect for that cusp of people saying, I think we can do really wild, tough things in private industry faster and without the bureaucracy red tape and are willing to put money down on it, said Riordan, the chief operating officer.Langtry and Riordan met at Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos space company in Kent, Wash., where both worked on rocket propulsion systems.They appreciated the culture that encouraged employees to take audacious risks and learn from their mistakes.