Everett Post
Zap Energy capacitors for fusion gain DOE approval
Zap Energy, the Everett-based fusion company, secured U.S. Department of Energy approval for two capacitor development milestones; the devices store and release electricity in sub-second bursts to drive fusion fuel into the extreme conditions needed for power generation. Its 35-kilovolt actively cooled capacitor is rated for 6 billion pulses at 10 hertz, against roughly 100,000 pulses for typical commercial units, and a 2.8-pound prototype held capacitance within 0.25 percent across hundreds of cycles at 8 kilovolts and over 7,000 amps. Design, manufacturing, and testing were done at the company's Everett headquarters.