Pranos Fusion aims to finalise first private tokamak blueprint by 2027
Bengaluru-based startup Pranos Fusion has built a small tokamak called PRAGYA to test plasma control and superconducting magnets.
Bengaluru-based startup Pranos Fusion aims to finalise the blueprint for PRANIK, a large tokamak reactor, by 2027, according to The Hindu.
The company has already built PRAGYA, a small doughnut-shaped tokamak, to test superconducting magnets and plasma control. This serves as a precursor to building PRANIK, which will heat plasma to millions of degrees to fuse hydrogen atoms and create energy.
Shaurya Kaushal, co-founder and CEO of Pranos Fusion, said that while the blueprint is expected by 2027, producing electricity from fusion is a further step away. He noted that the cost of a private tokamak depends on scale.
Co-founder Roshan George said fusion does not need radioactive material like uranium and carries almost no risk of a runaway reaction. He added that while electricity from a fusion reactor is currently far away and would be expensive, the need for energy will grow.
Pranos Fusion is currently incubated at the Institute of Plasma Research and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru. The startup has raised $7.2 million and is backed by Ankur Capital, pi Ventures, and Industrial47.
The company operates two platforms, JENGA, which is simulation and design software, and MAGGA, its high-temperature superconducting magnet programme.