General Fusion is seeking a method to quickly and reliably induce a substantial current to jump a 5-10 cm gap within a few hundred microseconds.
This is an Ideation Challenge with a guaranteed award for at least one submitted solution.
The Seeker engineers and operates devices that inject magnetized plasmas into a conductive chamber. During this process a 500 kA current flows around the plasma on the chamber wall. The Seeker desires a method to entice the current to jump across a 5-10 cm gap in the neck of the plasma device within a few hundred microseconds in order to form a closed loop around the plasma.
This is an Ideation Challenge, which has the following unique features:
- There is a guaranteed award. The awards will be paid to the best submission(s) as solely determined by the Seeker. The total payout will be $10,000, with at least one award being no smaller than $5,000 and no award being smaller than $1,000.
- Submission forwarding occurs during the Challenge. Since submissions will be forwarded to the Seeker throughout the Challenge, please make sure you upload only a finished proposal. You can submit an updated version of your proposal only as a new submission. If you submit an updated version of your proposal, please clearly indicate the new items and/or edits compared to your previous submission. This will allow the Seeker to quickly find the new information and determine how it improves your submission.
- The Solvers are not required to transfer exclusive intellectual property rights to the Seeker. Rather, by submitting a proposal, the Solvers grants to the Seeker a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to use any information included in this proposal.
Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on April 14, 2016. Late submissions will not be considered.
After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All Solvers that submitted a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions; however, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.
About the Seeker
General Fusion is developing the fastest, most practical, and lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy. Established in 2002, the company and its 65 employees are supported by a global syndicate of leading energy venture capital funds, industry leaders, and technology pioneers.
Fusion energy holds immense promise as a clean, safe and abundant energy source. Fusion generates neither pollution nor greenhouse gases and is fueled by hydrogen isotopes which are easily extracted from seawater and derived from lithium, in abundant supply. There is enough fusion fuel to power the planet for hundreds of millions of years.
General Fusion’s Magnetized Target Fusion system uses a sphere, filled with molten lead-lithium that is pumped to form a vortex. On each pulse, magnetically-confined plasma is injected into the vortex. An array of hammers around the sphere impacts and drives a pressure wave into the center of the sphere, compressing the plasma to fusion conditions.
For more information on General Fusion, visit http://www.generalfusion.com/.
InnoCentive is the global innovation marketplace where creative minds solve some of the world's most important problems for cash awards up to $1 million. Commercial, governmental and humanitarian organizations engage with InnoCentive to solve problems that can impact humankind in areas ranging from the environment to medical advancements.
What is an InnoCentive Ideation™ Challenge?
An InnoCentive Ideation™ Challenge is a broad question formulated to obtain access to new ideas, similar to a global brainstorm for producing a breakthrough idea or market survey which may include ideas for a new product line, a new commercial application for a current product, or even a viral marketing idea to recruit new customers. Ideation™ Challenge submissions are typically about two written pages, and Seekers receive a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use all submissions.
In an Ideation™ Challenge, Solvers may:
- Submit ideas of their own
- Submit third party information that they have the right to use and further the authority to convey that right and the right to use and develop derivative works to Seekers
- Submit information considered in the public domain without any limitations on use
Solvers should not reveal any confidential information in their submissions. Often the Ideation™ Challenge will be followed by one or more of the other three Challenge types to further develop the ideas and gain Intellectual Property protection when the concept has been well-defined.
