Reply To: Focus fusion and transportation

[Brian H]

Aeronaut wrote:

Power-wise, FF is a good match to locomotives. Currently, around 6,000 Hp is a really big diesel electric. FF at 5 MW would be about this size. So, just need to be able to mount it on a locomotive frame and provide cooling, etc.

No idea what a locomotive frame looks like, but I’m sure the form factor will work without the diesel fuel tanks. What I really like, though, is the idea of melding an elegant energy solution (heat first, and electric as it evolves) into an aluminum or copper processing plant with minimal use of transformers.
Aluminum refining is almost entirely electric already. It is a huge power user. As mentioned, 1/3 to 1/2 of the cost of production, and the industry is desperate for improvement there. Copper I know less about, but as it is easily melted out of ore (almost as easy as gold or silver, historically; it was the first base metal found and used), it would be in plating and other processes that the main benefit would come there, I think. But you’d have to know the entire cycle to see what opportunities for efficiencies would be possible with cheaper power.