The Commercial Burner (~2036)
A commercial-scale burner around 2036 is targeted only after the test burner supplies the operating data that closes the four gates.
A gated, not a scheduled, milestone
The commercial burner, targeted around 2036 at a roughly 1 GW fleet scale, is conditional. It follows the test burner only if that machine demonstrates a survivable plug, a measured regime, workable direct energy conversion, and characterised component life. The date is a target that the physics must earn.
What must be true by then
- Plug coil demonstrated at or near 26.49 T with real stress margins
- Regime extrapolation reduced from 166–830x to a validated range
- A breeder fleet (and emerging lunar ³He path) feeding fleet-scale fuel demand
- Availability characterised and honestly positioned against Tier III
Housings
The same D–3He tandem-mirror core is fielded in two housings: Aegis for fixed defense installations and MetroVolt for data centers. Both inherit the same gates and the same 2036 target.
Because the same D–³He core is fielded as both Aegis and MetroVolt, commercial readiness is judged once and shared across both housings. That shared core is an advantage for learning — operating hours on one housing inform the other — but it also means a gate that stays open holds back both. We treat 2036 as earned by evidence, not fixed on a calendar.