After the successful upgrade of the switches, we’ve decided that the time has come to move forward to experimenting with pB11 (hydrogen-boron). On July 11, LPPFusion Chief Scientist Eric Lerner announced at the Dense Z- Pinch Conference (DZP 2023) in Ann Arbor Michigan that we plan to start experimenting with pB11 in September. This will be the first time anyone has tested the Focus Fusion approach of pB11 fuel in a dense plasma focus device. The experiments will be the first in a months-long series of tests aiming at net energy before the end of 2024. If successful, such experiments will pave the way for cheap, clean, safe and unlimited energy for the entire world.
Until now, the LPPFusion team has been using deuterium as the fusion fuel in their tests. But with the successful upgrade of the switching system and the achievement of higher currents, the FF-2B device is now ready for the transition to pB11, the target fuel for Focus Fusion. Fusion with pB11 fuel produces no radioactive waste and allows direct conversion of energy to electricity, making feasible a great reduction in the cost of energy.
To prepare for firing with pB11, LPPFusion Research Scientist Dr. Syed Hassan is taking a number of steps. For one, to operate with pB11, we need 100% reliable remote functioning. While the main reaction of hydrogen- boron produces no radioactivity at all, a side reaction produces the very short-lived radioactive isotope carbon-11. The decay time of C-11 of 20 minutes means it does not constitute radioactive waste, but it also means a high level of radioactivity in the short term, so we will need to operate our device remotely during the day. Overnight, the radioactivity will drop to background, so we can do maintenance or make changes to the machine the next morning.
Dr. Hassan has been working to upgrade our current remote control system, which is not reliable enough. While we expected that commercial products suitable to our needs were available, it turns out they are not. So, Syed has had to modify the circuits to get the switching we needed and is in the process of installing the new controls.
In addition, we have to install a simple chemical conversion system on the exhaust, which will convert the toxic boron compounds to harmless boric acid by bubbling the exhaust through water.
