Dissecting the hype around OpenStar Technologies

In November 2024, a New Zealand startup claimed to have achieved "first plasma" in under two years—and for less than $10 million. OpenStar Technologies, founded in 2021, created and contained a plasma cloud at approximately 300,000°C for 20 seconds.

While this is far below the temperatures needed for nuclear fusion, the milestone highlights the early potential of OpenStar’s levitated dipole reactor design. 

Unlike traditional tokamak reactors, which confine plasma particles using magnetic coils outside the plasma chamber, OpenStar levitates a high-temperature superconducting magnet within the superheated plasma. 

This reactor design involves simpler, less expensive magnets and allows for faster iteration, which the company believes could accelerate its path to market.

Fueling the Hype Cycle

The announcement generated significant media buzz, appearing on platforms like CNN and Yahoo. OpenStar’s CEO stoked the excitement with bold visions of fusion’s potential:

However, it's crucial to separate the hype from reality. While achieving first plasma is a major operational milestone, it’s just the beginning. The real challenge for OpenStar lies in engineering a way to place a superconducting magnet, which requires temperatures close to absolute zero, inside a fusion reaction that takes place at temperatures above 100,000,000°C.

In its experiment that achieved first plasma, OpenStar’s superconducting magnet was only viable for an 80-minute window before it became too hot to generate the necessary magnetic field. And as a reminder, that experiment involved temperatures less than a fraction of those needed to sustain a fusion reaction.

With these technical hurdles in mind, OpenStar’s ambitious six-year timeline for fusion energy verges on absurd. That timeline also assumes easy access to plenty of capital: Mataira himself has acknowledged that the company will need $500 million to $1 billion to address “unresolved technical risks.”

Fusion energy has been “30 years away” for decades now. Incremental progress like OpenStar’s is worth celebrating, but unrealistic expectations can erode trust among policymakers, investors, and the public—potentially deterring the critical investments required to bring fusion energy to market.