Aneutronic fusion is, at the moment, the only way known to science to potentially get unlimited, ecologically safe, non-biohazardous, radioactive waste and spillage free power that is cheaper than any energy source now available.
Aneutronic fusion can be produced using various aneutronic fuels and various fusion devices or generators. LPPFusion uses hydrogen–boron-11 as an aneutronic fuel for a device called Dense Plasma Focus. This unique combination comprises LPPF’s approach to fusion called Focus Fusion.
Aneutronic fusion means fusion that does not produce any neutrons. This is extremely important because:
- Neutrons produce radioactivity by merging with other nuclei to produce unstable or radioactive materials. Without neutrons, no radioactive waste can be produced.
- Neutrons are destructive to material structures. If you don’t have any neutrons, you can make a source that is very small and very dense and therefore very cheap, without worrying about the damage the neutrons can do.
- With no neutrons, the energy of the reaction is carried away by the nuclei themselves—which are charged particles. Moving charge particles are electricity, so you can take the energy out by a direct conversion process, using a high-tech transformer, without converting the energy to heat, making steam and driving a turbine and generator. This reduces costs radically.
The ideal aneutronic fuel is a mixture of hydrogen and boron. At extremely high temperatures—billions of degrees—hydrogen nuclei (protons) fuse with boron-11 nuclei to very briefly form a carbon nucleus. But the carbon nucleus has too much energy to stay together, so in an instant it breaks up into three helium nuclei. These nuclei carry the energy released by the reaction.