Interview with nT-tao CEO Oded Gour-Lavie

This week The Fusion Report interviewed Oded Gour-Lavie, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of nT-tao, about nT-tao’s business goal and what drives the company. The company was founded in 2019 in Hod Ha’Sharon, Israel by:

• Oded Gour-Lavie (CEO): A retired Rear Admiral of the Israeli Navy and former commander of the Israeli Submarine Fleet and Israeli Sea Division.
• Doron Weinfeld (Chief Scientist): Doron has been a leader in plasma physics research for 30 years.
• Boaz Weinfeld (CTO): Like Doron, Boaz also has an extensive background in experimental physics, and significant expertise in managing high-technology development.

“Fusion is Not Science Fiction – It is Science. It Just Isn’t Easy”

Unlike most fusion energy companies, nT-tao is not focused on building fusion systems forutilities to hook up to the grid. Rather, the company is harnessing its 30-person team to build high-density, small-scale, modular systems that can be deployed as an off-grid solution for a variety of industries. The heart of the system is a quasi-symmetric stellarator, a design with a high-aspect ratio. By using rotating electromagnetic fields, nT-tao’s stellarator design can achieve a stabilized rotating plasma inside of a compact system. The goal is to build a 50 megawatt (MW) fusion machine that can fit into a few shipping containers. These sets of containers will be known as “Tao Energy Boxes”, and the fusion energy machine is known as the “Tao Core”.

The other advantage of smaller size is that it makes for lower-cost testbeds that can be iterated on much quicker than larger solutions such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). For instance, the diameter of ITER’s vacuum vessel is 19.4 meters; the diameter of the nT-tao fusion machine is table-top size at slightly over a meter in diameter. This has allowed nT-tao to build over seven prototypes since the company was founded in 2019.

Who Invests In Deployable Fusion Systems?

nT-tao has raised $28 million in funding since its inception. It has a number of investors, including NextGear Ventures, DelekUS, Mayer Group, Grantham Foundation, Honda Innovations, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, East X-Starmaker One, J-Impact, and the Israeli Ministry of Energy. When asked why their investors put money into fusion energy development, Oded stated that they are visionary thinkers. More importantly, these investors understand how portable/deployable fusion energy will change the market. There are a number of markets where this type of fusion energy machine will be game-changers, such as desalinization systems, quickly-deployable data centers, small islands, and off-grid/ruggedized power for mining and industrial sites. It is this market advantage that nT-tao’s investors want to be a part of.

Great Partners Make for Great Solutions

One thing that nT-tao has done to improve their likelihood of success has been to partner with a number of leaders in plasma and fusion research. These include Princeton University, Max Planck Institute, MIT, Ben Gurion University, Bar Ilan University, and Technion-Israeli Institute of Technology. These institutions have been invaluable in helping nT-tao model and optimize their magnetic “pancakes” for their high-density fusion machines. This has helped the company rapidly iterate their prototypes. As a result, nT-tao conservatively expects to have working fusion machines by the early-to-mid 2030s.

Conclusion: A Different Approach to Commercialized Fusion Energy

While nT-tao’s approach is unique, it illustrates the importance of having a number of playersand approaches to fusion energy. The idea of providing off-the-grid power instead of building fusion energy systems to hook up to the grid, in essence decentralizing the grid, has a lot of applicability, not only in remote deployments but even in densely populated areas. By decentralizing power deployment, this approach greatly simplifies transmission needs.