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Zap Energy
Zap Energy
Zap Energy
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Zap Energy is an American privately held company that aims to commercialize fusion power through use of a sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch.[1][2] The firm is based in Seattle Washington, with research facilities nearby in Everett and Mukilteo, Washington.[3][4] The firm aims to scale their technology to maintain plasma stability at increasingly higher energy levels, with the goal of achieving scientific breakeven and eventual commercial profitability.[5][6][7]

Key Information

The conceptual basis for the technology was developed at the University of Washington led by Uri Shumlak.[8] Zap Energy formed following the positive initial results achieved by an experimental device named Fusion Z-pinch Experiment (FuZE) as part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) ALPHA program. The firm was co-founded by British entrepreneur and investor Benj Conway (President, CEO), with technologist Brian A. Nelson (Chief Technology Officer), and physicist Uri Shumlak (Chief Science Officer).[9]

Sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion

[edit]
Normal pinch plasma will form instabilities such as the ones shown above, which will disrupt the plasma.

A pinch effect occurs when a current flowing in a conductor produces an inward-directed force, squeezing the conductor. The conductor in pinch fusion is a plasma of fusion fuel (in magneto-inertial fusion it may be an imploding liner). The current is induced using either an external magnet, or directly applied by electrodes in a reaction chamber. The device's relative simplicity led many researchers around the world to build pinch systems.

In early experiments, pinch systems were found to be unstable and the plasma was quickly forced into the walls of the reaction chamber, cooling and quenching the plasma so that fusion does not occur. This led to the development of stabilized pinch machines, most notably ZETA in the United Kingdom. At first, it appeared these designs were free from the instabilities of the earlier devices. However, further investigation showed that new microinstabilities were just as effective at destroying confinement as the earlier, larger, instabilities had been. With no obvious solution to these new class of problems, major research on the classic pinch devices ended by the early 1960s.

The idea of using the flow of the plasma as an added stabilizing force emerged in the 1990s.[10] In this concept, the pinch is developed such that the plasma flows at different, faster speeds at increasing distances from the center of the plasma column, with the outer layers being about ten times as fast as the center.[10] The magnetic field created by the pinch current is a function of both the density and speed of the charges. This causes the resulting pinch field to be non-linear across the plasma column. This surpasses the growth rate of the kink, sausage and interchange instabilities. The exact conditions that need to be reached to stabilize the pinch is an open area of research.[11][12]

History

[edit]
A diagram of the four-step process for pinch assembly.[13][14] A voltage is applied to the center cathode, which is a copper tube, encased in tungsten carbide. Fusion fuel is pumped into the back of the chamber, and then ionized using Paschen breakdown. A Lorenz force sweeps the ionized plasma forward, assembling the pinch between the cathode and the wall. Current flows from the cathode along the plasma to the grounded end cap, ions move in the other direction.

Zap Energy's technical origins rely on the work of Dr. Uri Shumlak at the University of Washington, starting in 1995.[10] The university built three experimental machines to test the flowing pinch:

  • ZaP (1998–2012 at UW)[15][14]
  • ZaP-HD (2012–present at UW)
  • FuZE (2015–2020 at UW; 2021–present at Zap Energy)[16]

The Shumlak lab developed custom tools to measure their plasmas.[17]

Zap Energy was founded in 2017 as a research spin-off from the Fusion Z-pinch Experiment (FuZE) research team at the University of Washington and collaborations with researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.[18] Zap Energy then built a next generation fusion core, FuZE-Q (2021–present at Zap Energy). Zap achieved their first fusion reaction as a business in 2018,[19] but in November 2021, Livermore National Laboratory provided an independent and more precise measurement of neutron production inside the flowing pinch, proving that the machine can do fusion with deuterium fuel.[20] The effort was led by ARPA-E, where the agency organized fusion teams to support private fusion companies.

An example of a flowing pinch formed on the FuZE device. Here a pinched plasma 50 cm long and 0.6 cm wide flows across an electrode gap.
An example of a flowing pinch formed on the FuZE device. Here a pinched plasma 50 cm long and 0.6 cm wide flows across an electrode gap.[21]

From 2015 to 2020, a series of U.S. Department of Energy grants enabled the team to test their sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch reactor at progressively higher energy levels.[22][23][24][25]

In July 2020, Zap Energy raised $6.5 million in Series A round funding.[26]

In May 2021, Zap closed $27.5 million in Series B funding including from Addition, Energy Impact Partners, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Lowercarbon Capital.[27][28] Chevron's financing was the first investment in fusion energy by a major U.S. oil company.[29]

In June 2022, Zap Energy announced first plasmas in their breakeven device (FuZE-Q) and a $160 million Series C raise backed by Lowercarbon Capital, Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shell PLC, Valor, DCVC, Energy Impact Partners, Chevron, and others.[30]

In October 2022, the Centralia Coal Transition Energy Technology Board awarded a $1 million grant to Zap Energy to fund the costs of assessing the feasibility of constructing a Zap fusion energy pilot plant at the site of the TransAlta Big Hanaford gas power plant.[31]

In May 2023, Zap Energy was one of eight companies chosen for the United States Department of Energy Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.[32][33]

In June 2023, Zap Energy secured significant new repetitive pulsed power manufacturing capabilities by acquiring the liquidated assets of ICAR.[34] Also in June, Zap Energy was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Unicorn, valued at more than one billion USD.[35]

In April 2024, Zap Energy published a research paper showing that FuZE had demonstrated 1-3 keV plasma electron temperatures (11 to 37 million degrees C), the simplest, smallest, and lowest cost device to do so.[36]

In October 2024, the firm announced that it closed a $130 million Series D and had begun operating a platform named Century to do integrated tests of power plant relevant technologies like repetitive pulsed power and liquid metal walls.[37][38][39]

In October 2025, announced that their test rig had delivered more than one hundred plasma shots at the rate of one shot every five seconds, delivering 39 (kW). [40]

Design

[edit]
A computer-aided design (CAD) drawing of a sheared-flow stabilized Z pinch device
A computer-aided design (CAD) drawing of a sheared-flow stabilized Z pinch device

The Zap Energy reactor is a pulsed power system with no external magnets.[3][41][16] The machine is a ~2 meter long metal tube with a cathode running halfway down the middle. A voltage is applied between the central cathode and the grounded wall. Fusion fuel is puffed in the back of the machine, which ionizes due to Paschen breakdown, creating a plasma.[21] This plasma sweeps forward and assembles into a ~50 cm long flowing pinch in the gap between the cathode and the wall.[citation needed]

Testing

[edit]

Zap Energy has outfitted these machines with tools to measure the performance of the flowing pinch. These tools include:

  • Ion spectroscopy measures the plasma temperature, and in a flowing pinch, also the emissions from Carbon-III impurities inside a plasma.[17]
  • High-speed cameras get photos and video of pinch performance. In 2019, the team used a 5 million frame per second camera made by Kirana.
  • Interferometry measures the plasma density across the flowing pinch. The tool passes a test laser beam through the plasma and compares it to a reference beam.[42] This tool can measure only densities along the narrow path where the laser travels (termed a Chord).
  • Magnetic field probes line the surface of the tube to measure the field generated by the flowing pinch current.[43]

Other diagnostic tools have been used to measure the pinches, many in partnership with experimenters from United States Department of Energy National Laboratories.

Scaling up

[edit]
A model of scaling up the current inside the flowing pinch.
A model of scaling up the current inside the flowing pinch.

Zap Energy argued that the rate of fusion in a flowing pinch scales as the pinch current to the 11th power[44][45][46] and that because of this, all that is needed to generate net power from a flowing pinch is higher current. However, this scaling model is based on adiabatic plasmas and that model fails to capture all real-world behavior.[citation needed]

Critics have pointed out that higher currents could introduce drift waves (drift instabilities) and shock waves that could tear the plasma apart.[46] In drift waves, the (+) ions and (-) electrons move at different speeds because of their mass differences, and this disrupts the plasma. Shock waves could form during the pinch assembly process. When the plasma sweeps together at high speeds, the two plasma waves could form a shock wave at higher speeds. Possible solutions include finding other ways to form a pinch plasma.

Supporting simulations suggest that to reach net power, ~650 kiloamps (kA) of current is needed through the flowing pinch. As of late 2021, the firm was testing with currents reaching 500 kA.[47]

Reactor

[edit]

Zap Energy proposed to surround the pinch with a molten metal blanket to absorb the energetic neutrons emitted by the pinch plasma. The blanket would convert the fusion energy to heat, which could in turn drive a steam turbine. This approach is similar to those proposed for inertial confinement fusion, and by First Light Fusion, General Fusion, several other fusion efforts, and shares several traits with cooling systems proven in operating fission nuclear reactors cooled with liquid metal sodium.[citation needed]

Challenges

[edit]

The higher pinch currents that are needed for scale-up introduce the possibility of electrode melting and erosion. This kind of erosion has been researched extensively within the field of spacecraft electric propulsion. In 2021, Zap's cathodes were made from copper coated with tungsten carbide, which has a maximum melting point of 3,103 kelvin.[48] Possible solutions include materials like graphene, making machines with bigger spot sizes, active cooling, or other work-around.

Another critique is that the volume of plasma inside the narrow pinch beam is relatively small relative to fusion machines such as magnetic mirrors, tokamaks, or other fusion devices. This caps the amount of fusion fuel, and subsequently, the amount of energy that can be made in a flowing pinch. Possible solutions include higher shot rates, multiple machines, and longer and wider pinch beams.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Zap Energy

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Zap Energy, Inc. is an American private founded in as a spin-off from plasma research, developing compact reactors using sheared-flow-stabilized technology. Headquartered in , with operations in and , the company was co-founded by Benj Conway (CEO), Brian A. Nelson (CTO), and Uri Shumlak (Chief Science Officer), who leverage decades of academic work on Z-pinch stabilization through plasma velocity shear rather than . This approach aims to enable low-cost, scalable plants by driving electric currents through flowing plasma to compress and confine it, avoiding the complex magnets and cryogenic systems common in designs. Key devices include the (Fusion Z-pinch Experiment), which has produced over 10,000 neutron-yielding plasmas by 2024, demonstrating ion temperatures exceeding 37 million degrees in a compact setup. In 2024, Zap launched the Century test platform, a high-repetition-rate system with liquid-metal cooling, achieving DOE-certified milestones including sustained three-hour operations and, by 2025, 39 kilowatt average power output at 12 pulses per minute—representing a twenty-fold advance in enabling technologies. The firm has raised over $330 million in funding, including a $130 million round in 2024 from investors like Chevron and Capricorn Investment Group, to scale toward a . While empirical results confirm stable, high-temperature pinches and fusion reactions, net energy gain remains a critical unsolved challenge, with progress validated through direct neutron measurements and plasma diagnostics rather than simulations alone.

Corporate Background

Founding and Leadership

Zap Energy was established in 2017 as a for-profit company focused on developing fusion technology, emerging as a spinoff from research conducted at the (UW). The firm was co-founded by entrepreneur Benj Conway, plasma physicist Uri Shumlak, and fusion engineer Brian A. Nelson, who brought complementary expertise in business development, scientific innovation, and technical implementation. Initial efforts built on academic experiments demonstrating sheared-flow stabilization in Z-pinches, aiming to achieve net energy gain without the complex magnets used in competing fusion approaches. Benj Conway serves as CEO and president, having co-founded the company to commercialize the technology; his background includes early career service as a in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office across and the , following studies in medicine at (first-class honors), and . Brian A. Nelson, , holds a PhD in and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1987) and served as a retired research professor emeritus at UW, where he contributed to prototype development like the device. Uri Shumlak, chief science officer, earned a PhD in from the (1992), worked at the Air Force Phillips Laboratory, and joined UW in 1994 as a professor, becoming a Fellow of the for pioneering sheared-flow stabilization concepts central to Zap's approach. The leadership team oversees operations from headquarters in , emphasizing scalable, low-cost fusion systems.

Facilities and Operations

Zap Energy maintains its headquarters in , at 2300 Merrill Creek Parkway, with primary facilities in the greater area. The company operates two main facilities near dedicated to fusion experimentation and engineering, supplemented by a smaller presence in , , for specialized operations. As of September 2025, Zap Energy employs 150 personnel across these sites, comprising engineers, physicists, and support staff focused on advancing sheared-flow-stabilized technology. Operations emphasize iterative prototyping and high-repetition-rate plasma testing, with facilities equipped for systems, plasma diagnostics, and direct energy conversion subsystems. Key activities include the operation of the Century demonstration platform, a fully integrated for plant-relevant fusion components, which began producing plasma shots in October 2024. By September 2025, Century achieved a repetition rate of 12 shots per minute, simulating power plant pulsing while validating flowing and yield measurements. Earlier efforts at these facilities centered on the device series, scaling from benchtop experiments to meter-scale pinches for verification exceeding 37 million degrees in April 2024. These operations prioritize compact, magnet-free confinement to enable cost-effective , with ongoing tests addressing longevity and power handling under repetitive conditions.

Technological Approach

Z-Pinch Fusion Principles

The configuration achieves plasma confinement and heating for fusion by driving a large axial through a cylindrical plasma column, which generates an azimuthal according to Ampère's law. This current interacts with the self-induced to produce a radial inward (J × B), compressing the plasma radially and dynamically raising its density and temperature to thermonuclear levels. The process typically involves pulsed currents ranging from hundreds of kiloamperes to megaamperes applied over microseconds, leading to implosion velocities that form a dense, hot core capable of sustaining fusion reactions, such as deuterium-tritium fusion yielding 17.6 MeV per event alongside a nucleus and . Key advantages of the include its high-β nature, where plasma pressure approaches or equals magnetic pressure, enabling efficient use of magnetic forces without external field coils or inertial drivers like lasers. This simplicity supports compact geometries and potential scalability for power production, as the self-generated fields directly couple electrical input to plasma dynamics. Fusion conditions require central temperatures exceeding 10 keV (roughly 100 million ) and densities on the order of 10^{20}-10^{22} ions per cm³ in the pinch core, conditions historically approached in pulsed experiments but challenged by rapid instability growth. In Zap Energy's approach, the plasma is initialized via gas puff injection between coaxial electrodes, with the current pulse ionizing and accelerating the gas into a filamentary structure that pinches upon peak current. The resulting compression heats the plasma primarily through ohmic heating and adiabatic processes, aiming for neutron yields and energy gains measurable via diagnostics like neutron cameras and Thomson scattering. While early Z-pinch efforts demonstrated fusion neutrons in the 1950s, modern implementations seek repetitive operation at high repetition rates for net energy production.

Sheared-Flow Stabilization Mechanism

The sheared-flow stabilization mechanism addresses the primary limitation of conventional : rapid growth of magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities, such as the m=0 sausage mode and m=1 kink mode, which disrupt plasma confinement within microseconds. In Zap Energy's approach, axial plasma flows with shear are introduced to suppress these instabilities, enabling longer-lived plasmas suitable for fusion. This relies on theoretical predictions from extended MHD models, where shear exceeding a threshold—approximately vz/a>0.1kVAv_z / a > 0.1 k V_A, with vzv_z as axial velocity, aa as shear scale length, kk as axial wavenumber, and VAV_A as Alfvén speed—renders instability growth rates negative or oscillatory due to phase mixing and the Hall effect. Implementation involves a accelerator that injects and ionizes fuel gas (e.g., ), accelerating the plasma axially into a pinch assembly region to form a flowing approximately 50–100 cm long and 0.6–1 cm in radius. The resulting velocity profile features higher core flows (~10^5 m/s) decreasing toward the edge (~4×10^4 m/s), yielding a of about 1.9×10^7 s^{-2}. Magnetic compression from the axial current then heats the plasma, while the sheared flow maintains gross stability without external fields or liners. Experimental validation stems from the ZaP Flow Z-pinch apparatus, a precursor to Zap Energy's devices, which demonstrated quiescent stability periods of 31–46 μs—equivalent to over 700 instability growth times (τ_g ≈ 24 ns)—with reduced m=1 mode fluctuations measured via azimuthal magnetic probes and . In Zap's device, this mechanism has sustained plasmas long enough to produce thermonuclear neutrons, confirming fusion-relevant conditions like temperatures exceeding 1 keV. Zap's ongoing Century device scales this to higher currents (up to megamperes) and repetition rates, preserving the shear for commercial viability.

Development History

Academic Origins

The sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch concept underpinning Zap Energy originated in theoretical and experimental plasma physics research at the University of Washington (UW), led by professor Uri Shumlak starting in the 1990s. Shumlak, who joined UW's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, focused on addressing longstanding magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities that had historically limited Z-pinch viability for fusion, proposing sheared axial plasma flows to induce phase mixing and suppress sausage and kink modes through differential radial velocities. This approach built on classical Z-pinch principles dating to the mid-20th century but innovated by leveraging internal plasma dynamics rather than external fields or liners for stabilization. Experimental validation began with the ZaP Flow apparatus, operational at UW from approximately 1998 to 2012, which injected gas flows to generate sheared velocities and demonstrated pinch plasmas stable for over 700 times the Alfvén time—the theoretical growth timescale for MHD instabilities. Subsequent iterations, including the ZaP-HD (high-energy-density) device, scaled parameters toward fusion conditions, incorporating collaborations with (LLNL) to refine stability diagnostics and modeling. These efforts established for prolonged confinement without reliance on complex magnetic coils, contrasting with approaches. The research progressed to the (Fusion Z-Pinch Experiment) platform around 2016-2017, achieving initial deuteron-deuteron fusion neutron yields and temperatures exceeding 1 keV, confirming thermonuclear conditions in a compact, electrode-driven geometry. 's results, including sustained neutron production over multiple Alfvén times, directly informed Zap Energy's 2017 spinout from the UW team, with Shumlak and fusion technologist Brian A. Nelson transitioning key expertise to the company alongside entrepreneur Benj Conway. This academic foundation emphasized simplicity and scalability, prioritizing direct empirical demonstration over simulation-heavy validation prevalent in other fusion paradigms.

Prototype Development (2017-2022)

Zap Energy, established in 2017 as a spin-off from research on sheared-flow-stabilized es, initiated prototype development with the device to demonstrate stable plasma confinement without external magnets. The company secured initial funding through the U.S. Department of Energy's program, enabling construction and testing of early prototypes aimed at achieving high-temperature plasmas via pulsed currents up to hundreds of kiloamperes. By 2018, Zap Energy generated its first fusion plasmas in the device, marking the onset of iterative to optimize design, systems, and sheared-flow dynamics for extended pinch lifetimes. Development focused on scaling plasma currents while mitigating instabilities, with experiments confirming sheared-flow stabilization extended plasma durations beyond conventional es, reaching milliseconds in length. In April 2019, researchers reported a in Z-pinch performance, achieving plasma conditions conducive to fusion-relevant densities and temperatures in compact setups. Through 2020-2021, Zap advanced multiple iterations, incorporating improved diagnostics for measuring ion temperatures exceeding 1 keV and refining assembly to handle repetitive pulsing at rates toward 1 Hz. These efforts culminated in demonstrations of thermonuclear fusion in , with confirming production from deuterium-deuterium reactions in March 2022, validating the approach's potential for net energy gain. In June 2022, Zap achieved first plasma in -Q, its fourth-generation designed for conditions with targeted currents of 600 kA, alongside raising $160 million in Series C funding to support further scaling. This period established the feasibility of modular, low-cost hardware, with devices operating at gaps of approximately 50 cm and pinch radii under 1 cm, paving the way for higher-power testing.

Recent Advances (2023-2025)

In 2023, Zap Energy was selected for the U.S. Department of Energy's Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, receiving $5 million to advance the design of a fusion based on sheared-flow-stabilized technology. The company's and FuZE-Q prototype devices collectively produced over 5,574 neutron-yielding plasmas, demonstrating operational reliability in repetitive pulsed experiments. By , Zap Energy commissioned the Century platform, a high-repetition-rate test system incorporating liquid-metal cooling for sustained operations toward power plant demonstration. This milestone coincided with $130 million in new funding from investors including and to scale pulsed-power and electrode technologies. Experimental progress included achieving plasma temperatures of 1-3 keV, generating over 10,000 total plasmas across platforms, and enhancing neutron yields through refined sheared-flow stabilization. In early 2025, the Department of Energy certified a key endurance milestone for Century, validating three hours of continuous operation with 1,080 plasma shots at 0.1 Hz repetition rate in a liquid-cooled configuration without component failure. Zap Energy reported isotropic emissions from these plasmas, signaling uniform thermal fusion conditions rather than anisotropic beam-target reactions, which supports stability for net-energy scaling. By September 2025, Century reached 39 kilowatts of average power output at 12 shots per minute (0.2 Hz), marking a twenty-fold advancement in repetition-rate and power-handling capabilities essential for fusion reactors. These results, detailed in peer-reviewed analyses of the platform's 100-kW-scale repetitive operations, underscore progress in mitigating instabilities via multi-electrode control and flow dynamics.

Engineering and Testing

Device Configurations (FuZE and Century)

The (Fusion Z-pinch Experiment) device utilizes a electrode geometry with electrodes, featuring a 50 cm long pinch assembly region and a pinch radius of 0.3 cm. Plasma is formed by injecting a gas mixture, such as 20% and 80% , which is ionized and accelerated through the electrode gap to establish sheared axial flows. The system drives currents exceeding 600 kA via a capacitor bank, achieving peak plasma currents around 530 kA. An upgraded version, -Q, commissioned in 2022, employs a simplified two- configuration paired with an enhanced capacitor bank for improved performance. The Century device represents a scaled test platform for repetitive operation, configured as a 100 kW-scale sheared-flow-stabilized system with a vertically oriented plasma chamber modeled directly after the design. It maintains a two-electrode setup but incorporates cooling for electrodes to enable high-power handling and sustained pulsing. Unlike , which uses deuterated fuels for fusion studies, Century operates with protium (regular ) to prioritize testing of repetition rates, cathode durability, and heat extraction without nuclear reactions. systems support rates up to 0.2 Hz (12 shots per minute), demonstrated in September 2025, building on a February 2025 milestone of 1,080 continuous shots over three hours at 0.1 Hz. Key differences between and Century lie in operational focus and engineering: emphasizes single-shot or low-repetition fusion plasma diagnostics and temperature records, while Century integrates power plant-relevant features like high repetition and thermal management for eventual commercial scaling. Both share the core two-electrode, linear architecture to minimize complexity compared to multi-electrode predecessors like ZaP.

Pulsed Power and Repetition Rates

Zap Energy's pulsed power systems deliver megaampere-level currents to drive the Z-pinch plasma compression, with each pulse lasting 100–200 microseconds. These systems, which form the largest component of the fusion architecture, incorporate in-house designed pulsed transformers to achieve higher currents and performance compared to prior generations. The first-generation 100 kW power supply (100kWPS-01) has been tested for repeatability and durability, emphasizing insulation, cooling, and topology to withstand billions of shots over a device's lifetime. Early prototypes like operated at low repetition rates, limiting their assessment of high-duty-cycle performance and component endurance. In contrast, the Century platform integrates high-average-power repetitive , targeting nominal rates of 0.1–0.3 Hz to simulate power plant conditions. Demonstrated milestones include 1,000 consecutive pulses at 0.1 Hz (one every 10 seconds) without failure and sustained operation exceeding 100 shots at 0.2 Hz, equivalent to 12 pulses per minute. These rates enable average powers of 30–100 kW during prolonged integrated testing, incorporating plasma loads, liquid metal walls, and resilient electrodes. Future scaling aims for repetition rates supporting hundreds of pulses per minute to achieve baseload fusion output, with hundreds of thousands of daily shots required for commercial viability. Challenges in high-frequency pulsing include managing loads, insulation breakdown, and system synchronization, addressed through iterative engineering of capacitors, switches, and transformers. This repetitive capability is essential for validating the sheared-flow-stabilized under conditions mimicking a net-energy-producing .

Diagnostic and Measurement Techniques

Zap Energy utilizes neutron diagnostics to quantify fusion neutron yields and assess isotropy, providing evidence of thermonuclear reactions in their FuZE and FuZE-Q devices. Plastic scintillator detectors, operated in pulse-counting mode with calibration, measure absolute D-D neutron yields, recording up to 2 × 10^5 neutrons per discharge in initial tests and scaling to over 5 × 10^9 neutrons in recent FuZE-Q shots. Activation detectors, including silver and indium foils, capture neutrons via threshold reactions to yield integrated production rates, enabling comparison with modeled thermonuclear outputs. Multiple scintillator detectors arrayed azimuthally around the pinch axis evaluate neutron energy spectra and angular distribution; 2024 measurements confirmed near-isotropic emission (within 10% deviation) at 2.45 MeV, distinguishing volume-distributed fusion from anisotropic beam-target mechanisms. Thomson scattering serves as a primary optical diagnostic for local (T_e), (n_e), and in the plasma column. A system probes the sheared-flow region, yielding T_e up to 600 eV and n_e around 10^{18} cm^{-3}, with profiles temporally resolved to 10 ns. These data, spatially correlated with sources via filtered camera , demonstrate T_e elevations exceeding 1 keV during peak fusion, aligning simulations with observed inferred from yields. Total yield integrates as a volume-averaged performance proxy, benchmarking stagnation conditions against metrics like nTτ exceeding 10^{21} keV s/m^3 in optimized discharges. Complementary techniques include fast-ion loss probes and diagnostics to monitor sheared-flow velocities and current profiles, though and data dominate validation of fusion-relevant parameters. temperatures, derived from time-of-flight analysis, reach 3-5 keV, distinct from measurements to highlight non-equilibrium dynamics. These diagnostics, cross-verified against resistive MHD models, underscore the role of flow stabilization in sustaining pinch conditions for milliseconds.

Scientific Achievements

Plasma Temperature Records

In its FuZE device, Zap Energy achieved electron plasma temperatures ranging from 1 to 3 keV—equivalent to 11 to 37 million —measured via optical , with observations taken on the device's axis approximately 20 cm downstream from the . These temperatures, reported in April 2024 and published in , coincide with regions exhibiting fusion reactions, as evidenced by yields exceeding 10^8 neutrons per pulse, and represent the highest electron temperatures documented in a compact system lacking central mechanisms or external magnetic compression. Prior experiments on FuZE established electron temperatures exceeding 2 keV using Thomson scattering, alongside ion temperatures surpassing 2.5 keV, the latter derived from spectroscopic analysis of Doppler broadening in spectral lines. These ion temperature measurements, first reported in 2021 with subsequent confirmations through 2023, provide a lower bound informed by equilibrium assumptions between electron and ion populations, and were achieved during high-performance pinches reaching currents over 500 kA. Earlier prototypes, such as ZaP-HD, recorded ion temperatures up to 0.8 keV under optimized conditions with pinch currents around 150 kA. These temperature records underscore the efficacy of sheared-flow stabilization in sustaining hot, dense plasmas without traditional confinement aids, though direct diagnostics remain challenging due to reliance on indirect inference from spectra or in dynamic pinch environments. No comparable temperature milestones have been publicly detailed for the Century platform, which prioritizes repetitive operation over peak thermal performance.

Neutron Yield and Isotropy

In sheared-flow-stabilized experiments on Zap Energy's device, deuterium-deuterium (D-D) yields have scaled with plasma current, reaching up to approximately 10^{10} s per at currents exceeding 600 kA, consistent with expectations for thermonuclear fusion rates under measured temperatures above 2.5 keV. Earlier operations at lower voltages, such as -25 kV yielding average currents of 370 kA, produced yields around 4 \times 10^7 s per discharge. Sustained production has been observed over durations of about 10 microseconds, spanning thousands of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) growth times, indicating quasi-steady-state plasma conditions conducive to extended fusion reactivity. Neutron energy measurements provide evidence of thermal plasma behavior, with the majority of yield emitted isotropically during peak fusion phases, distinguishing it from anisotropic beam-target reactions common in unstable pinches. Time-resolved diagnostics on , upgraded for higher resolution, confirmed at elevated voltages—four times prior levels—resulting in doubled plasma currents and enhanced yields, aligning with Maxwellian distributions expected for stable, hot fusion plasmas. These findings, detailed in a 2025 publication, validate the sheared-flow stabilization's role in suppressing instabilities that would otherwise produce directional streams, supporting scalability toward higher-energy D-T fusion. Ongoing tests on the FuZE-Q device extend these measurements to greater energies, with preliminary results showing maintained .

Endurance and Power Milestones

In February 2025, the U.S. Department of certified a key endurance milestone for Zap Energy's Century platform, which sustained continuous operations for three hours while delivering 1,080 plasma shots at a repetition rate of 0.1 Hz. This demonstration validated the system's and electrode durability under prolonged cycling, essential for plant viability. By September 2025, Century advanced to higher repetition rates, achieving 12 plasma shots per minute—equivalent to 0.2 Hz—while attaining 39 kilowatts of average power output. This marked a twenty-fold improvement over prior enabling technologies in power handling and stability, leveraging liquid-metal-cooled electrodes to manage heat loads. The platform, designed as the world's first 100-kilowatt-scale repetitive sheared-flow system, integrates high-voltage generation, plasma formation, and thermal management to simulate power plant conditions. Earlier prototypes like contributed foundational endurance data, with over thousands of Z-pinch plasmas generated in 2023 alone, enabling iterative improvements in shot reliability and system uptime. These milestones underscore progress toward commercial-scale operation, though full power plant endurance—requiring megawatt-level outputs at 1 Hz or higher—remains a scaling challenge ahead.

Challenges and Criticisms

Technical Instabilities and Limitations

Traditional configurations suffer from magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities, primarily the m=0 sausage mode, which constricts the plasma column, and the m=1 kink mode, which displaces it azimuthally, leading to rapid disruption of confinement within microseconds. These instabilities arise from current-driven forces in the self-generated azimuthal , limiting plasma lifetimes and preventing sustained fusion conditions. Zap Energy's sheared-flow stabilization mitigates these by introducing axial velocity gradients that suppress growth, achieving global stability for periods 700–2000 times longer than the theoretical kink growth time for static Z-pinches. Experimental results on the device demonstrate quiescent plasma phases lasting approximately 2 μs with densities around 10^{22} m^{-3}, during which deuterium-deuterium fusion neutrons are produced at rates up to 10^7 per μs. However, this stability is temporary; gross kink and instabilities emerge at the end of the quiescent period, terminating the pinch and constraining confinement time. Whole-device modeling of highlights additional limitations, as axisymmetric 2D simulations overpredict neutron yields by a factor of ~300% due to the inability to capture non-axisymmetric m=1 kink modes, which require 3D analysis for accurate representation. The sausage mode is partially controlled by tailoring and current profiles along with flow shear, but this imposes constraints on achievable plasma gradients, capping fusion performance. Furthermore, phenomena like plasma blowby and endwall flux rebound complicate boundary conditions and reduce efficiency, necessitating enhanced viscous and thermal diffusivities in models. Electrode durability presents a related operational limitation, as the sheared-flow exposes to extreme fluxes, particle bombardment, and irradiation during high-current pulses. The , being continuously replenished, faces erosion that could degrade performance over repeated shots, while integrity is challenged by arc attachments and , potentially exacerbating instabilities if distorts. These factors collectively limit the of current and repetition rates needed for net energy gain.

Scaling and Economic Hurdles

Scaling the sheared-flow-stabilized to power plants requires overcoming substantial technical obstacles, particularly in achieving stable plasma confinement at higher currents and repetition rates necessary for net energy production. Historical Z-pinch experiments have demonstrated rapid instabilities, and while Zap Energy's approach mitigates these through velocity shear, extending pinch durations and lengths beyond the current ~50 cm laboratory scales to meter-class devices demands validation of theoretical scaling laws under increased energy inputs, where plasma modeling complexities intensify. Electrode durability emerges as a critical limitation, with high-current operation causing erosion that curtails device lifetime; experiments on the FuZE platform highlight the need for advanced materials to support the high duty cycles projected for power generation, potentially requiring millions of pulses annually. Pulsed power systems represent another scaling barrier, as transitioning from single-shot to repetitive operation at rates exceeding 100 Hz—demonstrated modestly at 0.2 Hz on the Century device with 39 kW average power—necessitates innovations in compact, high-voltage capacitors and switches capable of handling megajoule-level deliveries without excessive downtime or failure. The Century platform, operational since June 2024, tests sub-scale components like walls for heat management but operates with rather than fusion fuels, underscoring the gap to deuterium-tritium plasmas at gigawatt thermal outputs. Economically, deuterium-tritium fuel dependency poses hurdles due to tritium's and , approximately $30,000 per gram as of 2022, which could elevate operational expenses unless self-sufficiency via breeding blankets is realized—a process reliant on achieving sufficient yields for transmutation, yet unproven at Zap's current performance levels. Although the absence of superconducting magnets promises capital expenditures far below projects like ITER's $20-25 billion per GW, the bespoke development of durable electrodes, high-rep-rate power supplies, and tritium handling infrastructure still demands substantial investment, with Zap having raised $327 million by late 2024 but facing the prospect of billions for pilot plants targeting 200 MW electrical output. Broader economic viability hinges on attaining levelized costs competitive with solar power's projected $0.04/kWh by 2030, amid critiques that fusion's timelines delay contributions to near-term decarbonization.

Broader Fusion Skepticism

Skepticism toward as a viable commercial source persists due to decades of unmet promises despite substantial investments exceeding $50 billion globally since the . Proponents have repeatedly forecasted practical deployment within 20-30 years, yet as of 2024, no fusion device has demonstrated sustained net production at a scale suitable for grid integration, with often described as perpetually "20 years away." This pattern, observed in major programs like the , which faces delays pushing first plasma to 2025 and full deuterium-tritium operation beyond 2035 amid cost overruns from €5 billion to over €20 billion, underscores systemic challenges in translating laboratory milestones into engineering reality. Fundamental technical hurdles amplify doubts, including the absence of a self-sustaining fuel cycle, as natural reserves cannot supply the needed for breeding in reactors without external supplementation that scales poorly. Fusion's , far exceeding that in fission reactors, accelerates material degradation, requiring divertors and blankets that withstand 14 MeV neutrons while maintaining , a feat unproven at power-plant levels. Moreover, even ignition achievements, such as the National Ignition Facility's 2022 demonstration of Q>1 in inertial confinement, demand recirculating power multiples of 10-30 times the output to account for inefficiencies in drivers and conversion systems, rendering net electrical gain elusive without continuous operation absent in pulsed approaches. Economic viability remains contested, with analyses indicating that fusion's capital costs could exceed $10-20 billion per gigawatt of capacity, dwarfing renewables and necessitating values above 10-20 for competitiveness, far beyond current records. Private ventures, including configurations, face amplified scrutiny for accelerating timelines to the , as warned by former communications director Cowley, who in 2024 cautioned against "deceptive hype" that risks eroding public trust akin to past cold fusion claims. Consensus among experts, including former science advisor , projects commercialization no earlier than 2050, contingent on resolving instabilities, heat exhaust, and tritium self-sufficiency—issues inherent to confinement methods regardless of innovation. This realism tempers enthusiasm, prioritizing empirical validation over speculative abundance narratives.

Business and Funding

Investment Rounds and Capital

Zap Energy has raised a total of $327 million in equity funding across its investment rounds as of September 2024, enabling the development and scaling of its sheared-flow fusion prototypes. The company's first major round was a Series A in August 2020, which secured $6.5 million from investors including Chevron Technology Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and the Grantham Foundation. This funding supported early experimentation with the device and validation of . In May 2021, Zap Energy closed a $27.5 million Series B round, drawing participation from prior backers and new strategic investors to fund engineering advancements and team expansion. The oversubscribed Series C followed in June 2022, raising $160 million led by Lowercarbon Capital, with key participants including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shell Ventures, and DCVC; these proceeds financed the construction of the FuZE-Q prototype and initial power production milestones. Zap Energy's latest Series D round, closed in September 2024, attracted $130 million led by , featuring new investors such as BAM Elevate, , , and the , alongside returning backers; this capital targets demonstration of a net-energy prototype and design.
RoundDateAmount RaisedNotable Investors
Series AAugust 2020$6.5 millionChevron Technology Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Foundation
Series BMay 2021$27.5 millionExisting backers and strategic participants
Series CJune 2022$160 millionLowercarbon Capital (lead), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shell Ventures, DCVC
Series DSeptember 2024$130 million (lead), BAM Elevate, ,

Key Investors and Partnerships

In September 2024, Zap Energy closed a $130 million Series D funding round led by LLC to support operations of its demonstration power plant system. New investors in this round included BAM Elevate, (associated with ), Mizuho Financial Group, and Plynth Energy. Existing backers participating encompassed , Breakthrough Energy Ventures (backed by ), Chevron Technology Ventures, DCVC, Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Shell Ventures, and The Engine. Earlier funding included a Series C round in 2022 led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, DCVC, Shell Ventures, and other venture firms such as Valor Equity Partners. These investments reflect interest from energy majors (Chevron, Shell), climate-focused funds (Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures), and general technology investors (DCVC, Addition), totaling over $330 million raised by mid-2025. Key partnerships include technical collaborations with U.S. Department of Energy's through funded Fusion Capability Teams in the BETHE and Fusion Diagnostics programs, aiding prototype development and plasma diagnostics. , as a Series D , positions itself as a strategic partner to foster collaborations between Zap Energy and Japanese industrial entities for and market expansion. A September 2024 U.S.-UAE joint statement highlighted bilateral investment cooperation in Zap Energy as part of broader advanced technology ties, though specifics on operational partnerships remain limited.

Future Prospects

Commercialization Roadmap

Zap Energy's commercialization roadmap prioritizes demonstrating net energy gain (Q > 1), where fusion output exceeds input, as a foundational milestone before scaling to power generation. This involves precise measurement of plasma properties, including temperature, density, and neutron yield, to calculate the and validate gain on experimental devices like . The company published a detailed in 2023 for such assessments, emphasizing empirical verification through neutron diagnostics and energy balance audits to build credibility for subsequent engineering phases. Progression from gain demonstration shifts to high-repetition-rate operations and heat extraction, addressed by the Century platform, a liquid-metal-cooled test system that began operations in October 2024. Century integrates durability enhancements and rapid pulsing to simulate power plant conditions, targeting sustained fusion yields with wall-plug . This platform, supported by $130 million in new funding, serves as a bridge to prototype reactors by testing integrated systems like power conversion and cooling under realistic duty cycles. The overall path leverages the sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch's inherent —via increased current, pinch length, and advanced fuels—to achieve gigawatt-class output in compact modules, potentially requiring less than $1 billion in capital per plant compared to multi-billion-dollar alternatives. Zap Energy anticipates a plant operational within a decade from 2023, accelerated by DOE Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program awards in 2023 and funding for demo systems. Modular design facilitates factory production and grid integration, though full hinges on resolving repetition rates exceeding 1 Hz and neutron-resistant materials.

Comparative Advantages and Risks

Zap Energy's sheared-flow-stabilized approach provides comparative advantages in simplicity and cost over magnetic confinement devices such as tokamaks, which necessitate large-scale superconducting magnets, cryogenic cooling systems, and intricate vacuum vessels to maintain . The configuration leverages self-generated from axial plasma currents, achieving unity beta—a measure of magnetic —without external coils, resulting in a compact, amenable to and lower . Relative to (ICF) methods, which demand high-energy lasers or particle beams to implode fuel targets, the eschews such drivers, potentially reducing operational complexity and energy input requirements for ignition. Sheared-flow stabilization, induced by differential plasma velocities, extends confinement times beyond traditional Z-pinches, enabling pulsed operation toward engineering breakeven on laboratory-scale devices like FuZE, with projections for scalable current densities up to 100 MA in future prototypes. This physics-based approach contrasts with the empirical scaling challenges in tokamaks, where disruptions and edge-localized modes demand advanced control systems, and offers a pathway to generation without the facility-scale infrastructure of ICF facilities like the . Notwithstanding these strengths, Z-pinch systems, including Zap's, inherit risks from inherent plasma instabilities such as and kink modes, which sheared-flow mitigates but has demonstrated only in short-pulse regimes as of 2023 experiments. erosion from high-current arcs and neutral gas injection poses material durability challenges, necessitating advanced coatings and handling for repetitive operation, unlike the non-contact confinement in . Scaling to continuous or high-duty-cycle net gain remains unverified, with uncertainties in multi-physics coupling—encompassing flow shear, resistivity, and —potentially limiting performance compared to more mature programs that have achieved longer confinement times. Broader risks include competition from established low-carbon alternatives like advanced fission or renewables, where Z-pinch's pulsed nature may complicate grid integration without proven baseload viability.

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