Design-Stage Honesty
Everything in this section describes design-and-simulation 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-simulation 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-simulation 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.