Helium-3 is Hyperion's co-product: tritium decays into helium-3 with a 12.3-year half-life, so every kilogram of tritium the breeder makes becomes a helium-3 stockpile over time. The breeder quietly manufactures the burner's fuel.
Tritium is radioactive and decays to helium-3. A tritium inventory is therefore a helium-3 source that accrues at roughly 0.42 litres of helium-3 per gram of tritium per year. Hyperion's tritium production thus doubles as a slow, reliable helium-3 accrual.
This closes the family's fuel logic: the breeder's decade of tritium production seeds the helium-3 the burner needs. The co-product is carried as upside only, subject to a price-endogeneity rule so it is never over-credited.
| Co-product | helium-3 from tritium decay |
| Accrual | ~0.42 L He-3 / g tritium / yr |
| Half-life basis | tritium 12.3 yr |
| Credited as | upside only |
| Role | seeds burner fuel supply |