[Digital Today reporter Jinju Hong] U.S. fusion startup Avalanche said it succeeded in generating plasma at about 11 million degrees Celsius in a small desktop-sized prototype. The temperature is close to the sun’s core and is seen as meeting one of the key technical conditions for commercial fusion power generation.

TechCrunch reported on June 10 that Avalanche announced it had succeeded in producing the ultra-high-temperature plasma needed for a fusion reaction in a recent experiment.

Fusion is a technology that produces vast energy by fusing light atomic nuclei, using the same principle as the sun generates energy. It is drawing attention as a next-generation clean energy source, but no fusion power plant yet exists that commercially produces electricity.

Before commercialisation, the industry is working through technical hurdles step by step, including generating high-temperature plasma, securing sufficient particle density and sustaining reactions for long periods. Heating plasma to more than 10 million degrees Celsius is cited as a representative milestone for inducing a fusion reaction.

Avalanche explained that it exceeded that threshold by generating plasma of about 11 million degrees Celsius in the experiment. That is at a level similar to the temperature at the sun’s core.

In the fusion industry, performance is assessed based on particle energy rather than ordinary temperature. A benchmark drawing industry attention is 1 kilo-electron volt, or keV, or higher. Bob Mumgaard (밥 멈가드), chief executive of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, has previously said, "If you reach around 1 keV, the whole world will pay attention."

Reaching ultra-high-temperature plasma does not, by itself, mean success in fusion power generation. To produce actual electricity, particle density and reaction duration must be secured along with plasma temperature. Plasma must be hot enough, dense and stably maintained for a long time for fusion reactions to occur continuously and for output energy to exceed input energy.

Avalanche also drew a line, saying the result does not mean it has achieved net energy production. Instead, it stressed it had demonstrated that its small reactor design is evolving in a direction that can induce a fusion reaction.

The company’s strategy differs from other fusion companies. While many fusion startups are developing large reactors aimed at producing power on the scale of tens to hundreds of megawatts, Avalanche is pursuing a small, low-cost fusion system. The company expects that if it can build a smaller fusion power device, it can compete with diesel generators and natural gas turbines.

It also highlighted a cost difference. Avalanche said it has used less than $50 million in investment to reach this stage of development. That is relatively small compared with many fusion companies that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars.

Development speed is also cited as a strength. The fusion core diameter of Avalanche’s latest device, Genie, is about 5 inches. The company said it has upgraded the device more than 25 times since last fall. It said the smaller the device, the faster it can repeat experiments and design changes.

Technical verification is still at an early stage. Avalanche has not published the results in an academic journal and has not undergone peer review. It said it instead received a review by a plasma physicist affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The industry sees the result as meaningful progress that shows the potential of small fusion devices, while viewing securing plasma density and duration and proving net energy production as remaining key tasks.

Ultimately, whether Avalanche’s small fusion strategy can lead to commercial power generation is expected to depend on further experiments and external verification results.