Design-Stage Honesty
Everything in this section describes design-and-validation studies, not built machines; the honest gates are stated so the analysis can be trusted.
What design stage means
Both Kronos machines are at the design and validation stage. The breeder (Hyperion) has construction targeted for Q2 2027 and first tritium around 2030 at the first-of-a-kind unit; no hardware net-gain claim is made before that. The burner (Aegis / MetroVolt) is earlier still, defined by physics and simulation with four open gates. Nothing in this section describes a fielded capability.
Stating this plainly is deliberate. Energy-security decisions turn on what is actually available, and conflating a design study with a delivered generator would be a disservice. The logistics benefits described here, shorter fuel tail, fewer convoys, sovereign isotopes, are the design intent; the gates are what stand between intent and reality.
The gates, once more
For the burner: plug-coil overstress 3-3.9x (infeasible as specified), operating regime 166-830x beyond any device (un-post-dictable), helium-3 fuel demand ~400x domestic supply (fuel gap), and availability 0.86-0.995 versus Tier III 0.99982 (30-100x short). These are physics facts, never translated into cost. They are stated in full because candor is what makes the rest credible.
- Both machines are design-and-validation studies
- Breeder: build Q2 2027, first tritium ~2030, no early net-gain claim
- Burner: four open physics gates, earlier stage
- Benefits are design intent; gates stand between intent and reality
Design-stage honesty is not a disclaimer appended to the analysis; it is the analysis. The value of these pages to a decision-maker lies precisely in separating what is demonstrated from what is intended, and in stating the gates in physics terms that can be tracked and eventually closed. A resilience concept described without its gates is not a plan; it is a wish, and this section refuses that framing.
Full-physics candor is the standard throughout this section.