Description of need
According to Mohamad Abdallah at Tokamak Energy, there is a need for services or technologies that streamline the export control process for tritium and lithium technologies. Right now, obtaining tritium or lithium-related technologies is a big hurdle.
It’s not the safety side that gets in the way, actually. Setting up a lab that handles tritium for R&D purposes isn’t all that hard. What’s hard is the export control of the technologies and documentation associated with handling tritium. Tritium technology is dual-use technology so you have to interact at the international level to work with any suppliers or collaborators. For example, if Mohamad needs a glovebox for handling tritium, and he wants to work with a US-based glovebox manufacturer, then merely receiving the documentation from the US-based manufacturer requires export control approval! A lengthy and complicated process. Note: Lithium-related work is subject to similar export controls since lithium is also a dual-use technology.
Problem severity (1-10)
4
Who has this need
Fusion companies, especially divisions working on fuel cycle or blanket.
Total addressable market (TAM)
Unknown
Solutions today, and their shortcomings
Going through the export control process manually. A long and arduous process.
Potentially relevant capabilities
Unknown