Fusion Energy is Grappling with a Fuel Issue—But Hexium Offers a Laser-Based Fix

Fusion startups face a daunting challenge: building a power plant that generates more energy than it consumes—something that’s never been achieved with fusion. That involves proving their tech works, scaling it up, and persuading investors it can be done profitably. But there’s another hurdle that gets less attention: securing the right fuel.

Most startups claim they’ll produce their own fuel—and technically, that’s true. However, this overlooks a critical detail: to generate tritium, a vital fuel component, they need a rare isotope of lithium that’s currently in short supply.

This issue struck Charlie Jarrott while he was working at the fusion startup Focused Energy.

“I realized nobody was addressing the fuel supply chain. There are plenty of fusion companies, but not one focused on making the fuel they’ll need,” he told TechCrunch.

That realization led Jarrott and colleague Jacob Peterson to launch Hexium, a company aiming to tackle the fusion fuel bottleneck.

Hexium Launches from Stealth with $12M in Funding to Tackle Fusion Fuel Supply

Hexium, which had been operating quietly until now, officially emerged with $9.5 million in seed funding and a $2.5 million credit line, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round was co-led by MaC Venture Capital and Refactor, with participation from Humba Ventures, Julian Capital, Overture VC, and R7 Partners.

Hexium is reviving an old laser-based technique to tackle a modern energy challenge. The method, called atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS), was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy in the 1980s to separate uranium isotopes for nuclear power. After spending $2 billion on the project, the Cold War ended and the market was flooded with nuclear fuel from decommissioned Soviet weapons, leaving AVLIS largely unused—until Hexium came along and adapted it for lithium.

Hexium’s updated version of AVLIS uses finely tuned lasers—precise down to the picometer—to isolate lithium isotopes. While the lasers aren’t particularly powerful (“tattoo removal energy,” as co-founder Jacob Peterson puts it), their extreme precision allows them to selectively interact with lithium-6, one of lithium’s two naturally occurring isotopes.

Lithium-6 and lithium-7 differ by a single neutron, but that’s enough to give them distinct atomic signatures. Hexium’s lasers are calibrated to recognize and react only with lithium-6, ignoring lithium-7 entirely. “It’ll just blow right by a lithium-7 atom,” said co-founder Charlie Jarrott.

Hexium Uses Precision Lasers to Isolate Lithium-6 for Fusion Fuel Applications

To extract lithium-6, the company vaporizes lithium metal and shines lasers into the cloud. When a lithium-6 atom absorbs the laser energy, it becomes ionized and is pulled toward a charged plate, where it condenses into a liquid and collects in a trough—like condensation on a cold glass.

This lithium-6 will then be sold to fusion companies, who need it both to produce tritium fuel and to shield reactors from radiation. The lithium-7 byproduct isn’t wasted either; it will be sold to conventional nuclear plants, which use it to stabilize reactor cooling systems.

With $9.5 million in seed funding secured, Hexium plans to build a pilot plant over the next year. If successful, the company aims to scale up production through a modular approach.

“We don’t need a facility the size of a football field,” said Peterson. “Something the size of a Starbucks is enough to make the economics work—and then we just scale up by replicating it.”

Read the original article on: TechCrunch

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