Direct Energy Conversion (DEC)

Direct energy conversion turns charged fusion products straight into electricity, bypassing the steam cycle. It is the reason Kronos pairs DEC with a low-neutron fuel.

What it does

Converts charged-particle energy directly to electricity

Why low-neutron matters

Neutrons carry no charge — they cannot be converted directly

Design conversion

blended, gate-adjudicated (η ~0.53–0.59 regime; ³He-rich optimum)

Pairing

co-dependent with the ELM-free negative-triangularity edge

Direct energy conversion (DEC) captures the kinetic energy of charged fusion products — protons and alpha particles — and turns it straight into electricity, without boiling water to spin a turbine. Skipping the thermal cycle removes the Carnot ceiling and a large balance-of-plant, and it is a DC-native output that pairs naturally with modern grids and data-center loads.

DEC only works on charged particles. Neutrons carry no charge and cannot be converted directly — they deposit their energy as heat in the wall. This is precisely why Kronos runs a low-neutron staged D–³He fuel cycle: the more of the fusion energy that emerges as charged particles, the more of it DEC can capture. Fuel choice and conversion strategy are one decision, not two.

The conversion train is multi-modal, and the design series prices each mode explicitly rather than quoting a single headline efficiency. The conversion optimum is ³He-rich rather than at the aneutronic p–¹¹B endpoint.