Product-Flow Overview
From plasma to shipped isotope: how 14 MeV neutrons become tritium, helium-3, and irradiation services inside Hyperion.
Following the neutron
The product flow starts in the D–T plasma, where fusion at Q_sci 3.076 emits 14.1 MeV neutrons. These cross the first wall into the breeding blanket, the single most important component for what Hyperion makes.
Step by step
- Plasma: D + T → ⁴He (3.5 MeV, confined) + n (14.1 MeV, escapes)
- First wall: neutrons pass through a hafnium-carbide-protected wall
- Multiplier: (n,2n) on Be/Pb raises the neutron count
- Breeder: ⁶Li(n,α)T captures neutrons to make tritium
- Extraction: tritium is recovered from the blanket carrier
- Storage: tritium is held; He-3 accumulates by decay
- Assay & ship: tritium and He-3 are purified, assayed, and shipped
- Services: routed flux irradiates and activates test articles
Two timescales
Tritium and neutron flux are produced in real time while the plasma runs. Helium-3 is produced on a slow clock set by the 12.3-year decay half-life, so it accumulates in storage regardless of whether the machine is running. The foundry therefore has a fast product loop and a slow one.
Where the gates sit
The breeder and extraction steps are where the open questions live: whether net TBR clears self-sufficiency with margin, and how much tritium is lost to holdup. The flow is a design-and-simulation description until FOAK demonstrates it.
This page describes a design-and-simulation study, not a built machine. Construction begins Q2 2027; first-of-a-kind (FOAK) first tritium is targeted near 2030. No net-gain claim is made before FOAK.