A commercial burner needs helium-3 at 28 to 54 kilograms per year — a level only lunar supply can plausibly provide, and a dependency entirely outside Kronos's control. The programme states it plainly and treats it as an external bet, with a leading authority on lunar helium-3 among the company's co-founders.
A single commercial-scale burner needs 28-54 kg/yr of helium-3, far beyond terrestrial sources: tritium-decay stockpiles (~2 kg/yr) and in-plant breeding cover only a demonstrator. The balance points to lunar regolith helium-3 — an entire supply industry that does not yet exist and is not expected before roughly 2036. Kronos names this as the enabling condition, external to the company.
Stating a dependency you cannot solve in-house is the hardest kind of honesty, and the programme does it: the commercial burner fleet is deliberately gated on lunar helium-3 precisely because its fuel landscape must change first. The bet is named, the expertise is on the founding team, and the number is not hidden.
| Commercial unit need | 28-54 kg/yr He-3 |
| Terrestrial cover | ~2 kg/yr decay (demonstrator only) |
| Dependency | lunar helium-3 supply (~2036) |
| Kronos control | external (stated bet) |
| Expertise | lunar He-3 authority among co-founders |