Thea Energy Advances Fusion Technology with New Peer-Reviewed Publications on Planar Coil Stellarators
Introduction
Thea Energy, Inc., a fusion technology company based in Kearny, New Jersey, recently made a significant stride in the development of commercial fusion energy. On January 29, 2025, the company announced the publication of four peer-reviewed scientific papers in the journal Nuclear Fusion. These papers collectively highlight the advantages of the planar coil stellarator—a simplified, scalable, and maintainable magnetic confinement system—for achieving commercial fusion energy and supplying neutron sources.
Revolutionizing Stellarator Fusion with Planar Coils
Stellarators are devices designed to confine hot plasma with magnetic fields to enable fusion reactions. Unlike traditional stellarators that rely on complex, three-dimensional magnetic coils, Thea Energy’s approach uses planar, or flat, coils, significantly simplifying construction and maintenance. This innovation makes the technology more practical for commercial use.
According to David Gates, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Thea Energy, this simpler coil design opens a new era for stellarator systems. He explained that the company’s upcoming fusion system called Eos, based on the planar coil stellarator architecture, will not only serve as a technology test bed but also produce tritium—a crucial fuel isotope for fusion—in commercial quantities. The simpler coils combined with advanced software control systems promise easier fabrication, maintenance, and scalability for integration into future fusion power plants connected to electrical grids.
Design and Performance of Eos: The First Integrated Fusion System
Thea Energy’s planned Eos system is a medium-sized fusion facility optimized through advanced plasma physics simulations. The design targets an operating power demand below 40 megawatts, focusing on steady-state tritium production using deuterium-deuterium fusion reactions. According to the research, Eos is expected to generate tritium at rates comparable to existing commercial methods, approximately 0.2 grams per day or 70 grams annually.
The company’s research also confirms that the magnetic field configuration of Eos is capable of efficiently confining energetic plasma particles—known as fast ions—crucial for plasma heating and sustaining fusion reactions. This validation was achieved through high-fidelity supercomputer simulations conducted with support from Princeton Research Computing and related computational science institutes.
Pathway to a Commercial Fusion Pilot Plant: Helios
Building upon the foundational work with Eos, Thea Energy is designing a second, larger stellarator device named Helios. This pilot plant will have roughly double the linear dimensions of Eos and aims to produce net electric power continuously. Helios will further demonstrate the scalability and commercial viability of the planar coil stellarator technology, intending to serve as a stepping stone toward fusion energy commercialization.
Technical Highlights from the Publications
-
Simplified Magnetic Coil Architecture: The use of two types of planar coils—encircling coils and shaping coils—produces precise magnetic fields for plasma confinement. This approach offers manufacturability and maintenance advantages over complex 3D coils.
-
Sector Maintenance Capability: The planar coil arrangement allows large sectors of the fusion device to be removed and serviced easily, enhancing operational uptime and reducing maintenance costs.
-
Optimized Plasma Confinement: Simulations show effective confinement of fast ions and energetic particles, essential for sustaining fusion reactions and maximizing energy output.
- Scalable System Design: Modular components and control software enable the expansion from a neutron source to pilot and commercial fusion plants.
Collaborations and Funding
The research efforts described in the published papers involved collaborations with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and received partial funding through an INFUSE award in 2022. The computational modeling was carried out using resources managed by Princeton University’s computational science and engineering institutes.
About Thea Energy
Founded in 2022 as a spin-out from Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Princeton University, Thea Energy is dedicated to developing economical, scalable fusion energy solutions. The company focuses on mass-producible planar coils combined with sophisticated software controls to advance stellarator technology—a mature and scientifically established form of magnetic fusion.
Their flagship project, Eos, represents the first integrated planar coil stellarator fusion system targeting steady-state neutron production and tritium breeding. Thea Energy envisions fusion energy as an abundant, zero-emission power source that can support a sustainable energy future globally.
Summary
Thea Energy’s recent peer-reviewed publications mark a major milestone in fusion technology research, introducing a more practical and scalable approach to stellarators through planar coil designs. The forthcoming Eos system and the larger Helios pilot plant are key steps toward making fusion energy commercially viable, offering an opportunity to produce clean, limitless power while addressing the complex challenges traditionally associated with fusion reactors.
Contacts
- Investor Relations: Robin Brown
- Media Relations: Madeline Joanis
This breakthrough positions Thea Energy at the forefront of the next generation of fusion energy development, bringing the vision of commercially viable, carbon-free fusion power closer to reality.