For fusion and aerospace applications, capacitors have more challenges to success than you might think
As fusion energy comes closer to approaching real commercial deployments, The Fusion Report is increasing its focus on the fusion supply chain: critical technologies that are required to make fusion not only real, but scalable and economical. Supply chain technologies and components are normally not made by fusion machine companies; rather, they are often equivalent to or derived from off-the-shelf components and/or systems.
E&P Technologies: Building Capacitors for Demanding Applications
A great example of a critical fusion energy technology is capacitors for high voltage pulse forming applications, such as laser drive circuits and impedance match generators for inertial fusion energy (IFE), and high-amperage drive circuits for magnetic fusion energy (MFE) devices. In production environments, these capacitors will have to survive (and perform) for multiple years in fairly challenging environments. These environments may have requirements including surviving constant high-energy neutron bombardment and (relatively) temperatures, while producing over 30 million high-voltage nanosecond-duration pulses per year consistently and with precision. From a business perspective, this environment is also challenging because long-term visibility into the needs of fusion machine companies may be difficult to get for the supply chain companies that have to build these parts.
One example of such a supply chain company is E&P Technologies, a Melbourne, Florida startup based in the heart of Florida’s Space Coast, which builds high voltage capacitors for aerospace and fusion energy applications. Founded by a team of engineers with direct experience in aerospace and fusion programs, the company is currently advancing with founder support and early customer partnerships. Its founders have extensive experience in aerospace applications where high voltage/high power capacitors are widely utilized, with applications such as spacecraft plasma propulsion, pulsed radar systems (like Synthetic Aperture Radar), directed-energy weapons, and lightning simulation systems. The move into fusion energy was an obvious one for E&P Technologies, which is working with several companies today on their needs for high voltage/high-power pulsed capacitor systems. Below is The Fusion Report’s interview with the co-founder and CEO of the company, Caroline Sorrick.
E&P Technologies Interview With Caroline Sorrick
Tell us the about the origin of your company.
E&P Technologies was founded on the belief that critical technologies require resilient, domestic engineering capabilities, and a supplier with a willingness to challenge conventional solutions. Our founders have considerable experience in aerospace and fusion markets and applications. Leading teams through the design and manufacturing of high-consequence, first-of-kind systems, we repeatedly ran into the same wall, sacrificing performance because the right hardware simply wasn’t available. Additionally, we saw global supply chains grow increasingly fragile, while technical demands continued to accelerate, which means that innovation cannot depend on slow, inflexible, or commoditized approaches. Which is one of our key philosophies when we founded E&P Technologies: to be part of the solution by bringing fresh thinking to a component category that has been largely stagnant and build products around what end users need from this hardware in the field.
What makes your approach unique in the market?
First, we design and manufacture our high-voltage capacitors in the United States which we are proud to be strengthening the domestic engineering capability to a component category that has long been dependent on overseas supply chains. Second, is our technical range. We offer solutions from proven traditional designs to novel material and construction approaches that push performance boundaries and reduce form factor, all built with the kind of craftsmanship and rigorous testing that demanding applications require. Lastly, our philosophy: we intentionally don’t publish a fixed catalog. We believe the component should fit the application, not the other way around. Custom-engineered solutions are the norm here, not an exception and that flexibility is what allows us to serve in many different markets from a single engineering platform.
Who are your target customers?
The target customers for E&P Technologies are companies that are building pulsed power systems. This includes defense, aerospace, and fusion developers, as well as national laboratories and research institutes. In general, our customers share the need for performance and reliability within their system applications.
What is your biggest issue getting visibility into the supply chain requirements of fusion companies?
Our challenges in the fusion market are very similar to those of other companies that are part of the fusion supply chain. There is a major difference between designing and building a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) fusion systems, and designing and building production fusion energy systems at scale. The requirements for systems and components delivered by the fusion supply chain as part of developing these FOAK systems are radically different than that of a well-oiled production system. Requirements evolve rapidly as programs mature and what a team needs at the prototype stage looks very different from what they’ll need six months later. There is also limited standardization across the industry; every program specs pulse power components differently, which makes proactive planning difficult from a supplier’s perspective. Our response has been to engage early by working alongside development teams before specs are fully locked, or have visibility into the technical development roadmaps so we’re not reacting to a purchase order, we’re part of the design process.
What percentage of your business today is for fusion customers, and what percentage do you think it will be in two years?
Today, roughly a third of our company’s business is for fusion customers, either designing a new prototype capacitor for their one of a kind system needs, or supplying a variety of readily available components with traditional specs. Within two years, we expect that greater than 50% of our business will be with fusion companies as more fusion programs move from early R&D into active hardware development and procurement cycles mature. The trajectory reflects both the growth of the fusion industry broadly and E&P’s intentional focus on building deep relationships with the companies leading that charge.
Other things you want people to know about your company?
A few things worth knowing about who we are: Our team has worked directly in the industries we serve, not just in capacitor manufacturing, but inside fusion and aerospace programs where this hardware is used and where supply chain gaps have real consequences. That context shapes how we design and how we engage with customers. We also think about customer relationships differently, which is reflected in how we’ve structured our product platform. We recently launched a three-tiered offering built around where your program actually is. Additionally, we take qualification seriously. Our products are developed against IEC and other relevant standards, and we are investing in accelerated test infrastructure that gives customers data-backed confidence. We thrive on supporting our customers from day one and growing with them as their technology advances.
Conclusion: Capacitors Are Critical for Fusion Energy Systems
As an electrical engineer, I started in the industry in the 1980s. Back then, capacitors were usually only of significant interest to people that focused on power systems, a minority of electrical engineers. Over the past five or six years, things have changed considerably: power system engineering has turned decidedly high-tech with technologies such as silicon carbide and gallium arsenide power semiconductors, electric vehicles, solar energy systems, and 800-volt DC power systems for next-generation data centers. Fusion energy is one of those applications that requires breakthrough capabilities from high voltage pulsed power systems, and capacitors are a critical component to their success. The challenges that commercial fusion energy systems present for high voltage pulse power capacitors are incredible. The people of E&P Technologies are taking those challenges head-on, building the kind of cutting-edge components required for successful fusion system development.
