We Are at the Design-and-Simulation Stage
No burner hardware exists yet; Aegis is a closed set of physics and engineering models, and we label every number as modelled rather than measured.
What “design-and-simulation” means
At this stage the machine lives entirely in models: equilibrium and transport codes for the plasma, finite-element stress models for the magnets, neutronics for the 5.44% neutron fraction, and system models for direct energy conversion. There is no vessel, no coil, no plasma. The value of this stage is that it exposes the binding constraints before any metal is cut.
Why we publish it anyway
A design study is worth publishing when it is honest about its own maturity. The plug coil stress result (3–3.9x over the design bore) and the regime extrapolation (166–830x beyond operated devices) are findings of the simulation, and they are the reason the roadmap is staged rather than promising near-term power.
What would move us off this stage
- A plug-coil coupon or sub-scale magnet that demonstrates field and stress margins
- A helium-3 supply path that produces kilograms per year, not grams
- A regime-scaling experiment that reduces the 166–830x extrapolation
- An integrated test burner around 2032 that operates the full fuel-to-DEC chain
Until those exist, no net-gain claim is made for burner hardware. The first hardware net-gain milestone on the whole program belongs to the breeder FOAK around 2030, not to Aegis.
Calling this a design study is not a hedge; it is the accurate description. The equilibrium, transport, neutronics, and structural models are internally consistent and reproduce the physics we can check, but consistency is not the same as demonstration. The 26.49 T plug, the 17 T throat, and the 5.44% neutron handling are all targets the models set, and only hardware can confirm them.
Related: no net-gain before FOAK.