Backed by World-Class Science & Engineering

Kronos Fusion Energy is backed by scientists and engineers affiliated with MIT, Caltech, CERN, Stanford / SLAC, ORNL, UCLA, and the U.S. Navy, including ex-Commonwealth Fusion Systems engineers and recipients of the Turing Award, the Alfvén Prize, and members of the National Academy of Engineering.

MIT
Caltech
CERN
Stanford / SLAC
ORNL
UCLA
U.S. Navy
ex-Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Turing Award
Alfvén Prize
National Academy of Engineering

A national-lab-caliber team.

Plasma physicists, magnet engineers, materials scientists, HPC pioneers, and defense leaders.

Priyanca Ford — Founder & CEO. Energy systems strategist. UCLA, Harvard, Stanford.
Dr. Gerald Kulcinski — Founding Partner · Low-Neutron Fusion. D–³He fusion pioneer. National Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Carl Weggel — Founding Partner · Chief Scientist. MIT Alcator magnets. Guinness World Record.
Dr. Robert J. Weggel — Founding Partner · Magnetic Field Design. Record-setting magnets. MIT / Brookhaven.
Dr. Patrick H. Diamond — Scientific Advisor · Plasma Turbulence. Alfvén Prize. UCSD / NFRI.
Dr. Jack Dongarra — Scientific Advisor · HPC & Algorithms. Turing Award. LINPACK / TOP500. ORNL.

See the full team — 41 senior leaders.

Home · Fusion vs Fission

Question

What's the difference between fusion and fission?

Fission splits heavy atoms; fusion fuses light ones. The consequences for safety and waste are night and day.

Fusion vs SMRs →How it works →

Side by side

Splitting vs fusing.

Fission

Splitting heavy atoms

Splits uranium/plutonium in a self-sustaining chain reaction
Can melt down if cooling is lost
Long-lived high-level radioactive waste
Proven, deployed today

Kronos

Fusing light atoms

Fuses hydrogen isotopes — no chain reaction
Cannot melt down or run away; stops when conditions leave the window
No long-lived high-level waste; Kronos's burner is low-neutron
Kronos: prototype targeted 2030

Same word — 'nuclear' — opposite physics. Fusion is the clean, unmeltable one.

Related questions

More answers.

What is the difference between fusion and fission? +

Fission splits heavy atoms (uranium) in a chain reaction and leaves long-lived waste; fusion fuses light atoms (hydrogen isotopes), can't melt down or run away, and produces no long-lived high-level waste.

Is fusion safer than fission? +

Yes. Fusion has no chain reaction to run away and only a tiny amount of fuel in the plasma at any moment, so it stops rather than accelerates when disturbed.

Does fusion make the same waste as fission? +

No. Fusion produces no long-lived high-level waste. Kronos's low-neutron burner keeps activation and scheduled-replacement waste far lower than fission or even D–T fusion.

Verify it yourself

Open by design.

Live simulation

Run the engines

Zenodo · CC BY 4.0

The two machines

Learn (Fusion 101)

Fusion vs SMRs →Is fusion safe? →

Go deeper

See how Kronos works.

Two machines, in the open.

How it works →

Conceptual design and simulation study; the integrated Kronos machines are not yet built, and certain results are requirement-class. No financial figures are published on this site.

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