Description of venture idea
Andrew David Maris and Allen Wang propose building one or several small tokamaks that capture just enough of the physics that they can be used to iterate on plasma control algorithms, to train AI-based control systems, and investigate plasma-wall interactions.
This venture could sell software (e.g. a plasma control system), data (e.g. training data sets), access to the mini tokamaks to test control systems, or possibly hardware (e.g. diagnostics that get invented and developed in the process of experimenting with the mini tokamaks).
Market needs this venture would address
Fusion
Technical capabilities this venture might leverage
- Advances in AI
- Plasma control capabilities at PSFC
Business model
Team
Andrew David Maris, Allen Wang
Outstanding risks
- Building a “mini tokamak” may be unrealistically expensive for an early-stage startup
- A ‘mini tokamak’ may not capture enough of the relevant physics