ORNL Licenses Cryogenic Pellet Fueling Technologies to Type One Energy

On August 5, 2026, at the Nuclear Opportunities Workshop in Knoxville, Tennessee, the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) signed a licensing agreement transferring four ORNL inventions — including a tritium-compatible cryogenic pellet gas gun and a tritium-compatible cryogenic screw extruder — to stellarator developer Type One Energy. The technologies address a persistent gap in fuel-pellet production rates needed for continuous deuterium-tritium plasma operations. The deal expands Type One's existing ORNL collaborations, including high-heat-flux component testing and the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy program, and supports the company's Infinity One stellarator prototype at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run site (targeting commissioning in 2029) ahead of a planned 350 MWe Infinity Two commercial plant.