Technical Library › Glossary of Fusion & Plasma Terms
Glossary
Breeding Blanket
The layer that captures fusion neutrons to breed tritium and recover heat.
Surrounding the plasma, the breeding blanket slows fusion neutrons, breeds tritium from lithium, and recovers the neutrons' energy as heat. Its tritium breeding ratio must exceed 1 for the plant to be fuel-self-sufficient.
HYPERION's blanket targets a breeding ratio of 1.8 to produce 4.0 kg/yr of tritium while co-producing helium-3 for the burner.