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Question
How does Kronos compare to ITER?
ITER is a large public D–T science tokamak; Kronos is a compact, high-field, low-neutron commercial design. They're different bets — and Kronos builds on the physics ITER-class research produced.
The honest comparison is that ITER and Kronos answer different questions — public science at scale versus compact commercial power. Kronos's distinct choices are spherical geometry, high field, low-neutron fuel, and direct conversion.
Questions & answers
How is Kronos different from ITER?
ITER is a large international science facility built to demonstrate D–T fusion at scale — a conventional-aspect-ratio tokamak with lower field, a steam-cycle back end, and neutron-heavy fuel. Kronos MetroVolt is a compact, high-field spherical tokamak running low-neutron D–³He with direct energy conversion, aimed at commercial power. They pursue different goals with different physics choices.
Is Kronos competing with ITER?
Not directly — ITER is a publicly-funded research project, not a commercial product. Kronos actually builds on the broader body of tokamak physics that ITER-class research advanced, and on specific results from machines like DIII-D (negative triangularity) and MAST-U (Super-X divertor).
Why go compact instead of big?
High-temperature superconductors weren't mature when ITER was designed. High-field REBCO magnets let a much smaller machine reach reactor conditions, which is central to making fusion economical — the bet behind the whole compact-fusion wave, Kronos included.