Learn › Questions people ask
Question
What is direct energy conversion?
Direct energy conversion captures the energy of charged fusion products straight as electricity, skipping the steam turbine — a defining feature of the Kronos design.
Direct energy conversion is one of the two decisions (with low-neutron fuel) that most distinguish the Kronos plant. The full concept — and the multi-modal train of CPDC, MHD, thermionic, and photonic stages — is on the DEC concept page.
Questions & answers
What is direct energy conversion (DEC)?
DEC turns the kinetic energy of charged fusion products — protons and alpha particles — directly into electricity, without boiling water to spin a turbine. It works by decelerating the charged particles against an electric field or extracting energy from the flowing plasma, capturing their energy as current.
Why does it matter?
Skipping the steam cycle removes the Carnot efficiency ceiling, shrinks the plant, and gives a DC-native output. It's a big part of why the Kronos engineering gain can exceed what a thermal fusion plant reaches.
Why is it paired with low-neutron fuel?
DEC only works on charged particles — neutrons carry no charge and can't be converted directly. So the more of the fusion energy that emerges as charged particles, the more DEC can capture, which is exactly why Kronos runs a low-neutron D–³He fuel.