Century: Zap Energy’s Liquid Metal Lined and Cooled Repetitive Sheared-Flow-Stabilized Z-Pinch Fusion Technology Demonstration Platform.

The sheared-flow-stabilized (SFS) Z-pinch concept is advancing toward commercialization at Zap Energy through a systematic power plant technology maturation strategy. [1] The SFS Z pinch relies on plasma self-organization which eliminates the need for external confinement or heating technologies. This pulsed, compact magnetic confinement technology could, in turn, provide the basis for a cost-effective deuterium-tritium fusion power plant. [2] In addition to a robust experimental program pushing plasma performance towards breakeven conditions, Zap Energy is developing critical power plant subsystems including high-average-power repetitive pulsed power, high-duty-cycle cathodes, and liquid metal wall systems. Century is Zap Energy's first platform in this maturation strategy integrating these three technologies into an operational system capable of firing SFS Z-pinch plasmas into a liquid-metal-lined container at sustained repetition rates on the order of 0.1 Hz. The pulsed power driver and liquid metal heat extraction are both designed for a nominal average input power of 100 kW. The Century platform generates critical data on manufacturability, operability, reliability, and maintainability—key metrics for assessing future commercial attributes, as well as directly informing design requirements for future integrated plant systems. Results from the first year of operations are described.