Tritium ³H
It boosts the weapons stockpile and decays at 5.5 %/yr, so it must be replenished continuously — and it starts every D–T fusion effort on Earth. HYPERION is sized to that national duty.
A material that must be remade every year.
Unlike helium‑3, tritium decays away — so demand is not a one‑time fill but a continuous national duty, alongside a fusion industry that cannot start without it.
Tritium boosts warhead yield and decays at 5.5 %/yr, so the stockpile must be continuously replenished. The U.S. has one aging production path — this is the national requirement HYPERION is sized to.
Every D–T fusion effort — including ITER — needs tritium to start, and the sector faces a looming startup‑tritium crunch. A merchant source is strategically valuable to the whole industry.
Decade‑plus microbatteries for medical implants, remote sensors, and spacecraft — power that never needs recharging.
Compact neutron sources for well logging, security screening, and industrial analysis.
Exit signs, dials, and sights that glow without power — betalight technology.
Tritium labeling for biology and chemistry — tracing reactions and metabolic pathways.
One route against a decaying stockpile.
Continuous demand, singular supply
Today the U.S. depends on a single aging domestic production route against a stockpile that loses 5.5 % of its inventory every year — and every fusion company that follows will need startup tritium too. HYPERION adds a purpose‑built domestic source.
The blanket lever.
Tritium output sits on the blanket tritium‑breeding‑ratio (TBR) lever — a design lever the program can advance without changing the plasma physics.