Waste and Byproduct Logistics
Every power source produces byproducts that must be handled; the burner's low neutron fraction and the breeder's isotope streams each carry distinct logistics.
Byproducts are a logistics stream too
Resilience is not only about fuel in; it is also about byproducts out. Combustion generation produces exhaust and spent-fuel logistics; fission produces long-lived radioactive waste. Fusion byproducts differ by machine. Counting the outbound stream honestly is part of a complete logistics picture.
The burner (Aegis / MetroVolt) uses deuterium-helium-3, a low-neutron fuel with a 5.44% neutron fraction, so its neutron-induced activation is lower than deuterium-tritium fusion. Lower activation means a lighter outbound handling burden, an advantage for resilient, sited operation, though not zero.
The breeder is different by design
The breeder (Hyperion) is a deuterium-tritium machine and a full 14 MeV neutron source; its neutrons are the point, used to breed tritium and produce helium-3. It therefore has real neutron-handling, activation, and tritium-accounting requirements, addressed in the isotopes and safety sections. The two machines have opposite byproduct profiles by design: the burner minimizes neutrons, the breeder maximizes their useful capture.
- Byproducts out are part of the logistics picture
- Burner: low neutron fraction (5.44%) -> lighter activation
- Breeder: full 14 MeV source -> real neutron handling
- Opposite byproduct profiles by design intent
The two machines' opposite neutron profiles are a design feature to state clearly: the burner minimizes neutrons because they are a loss to a direct-conversion generator, while the breeder maximizes useful neutron capture because neutrons are its product. This means their handling requirements should never be conflated. A resilient sited generator benefits from the burner's low activation; the breeder's neutron handling is the trade for its isotope output.
Design-and-simulation stage; handling requirements are being characterized.