How nanofilms ignite the future energy revolution: A Conversation with Peak Nano's Chief Scientist

Michael Ponting：Nuclear fusion involves combining two hydrogen atoms into a helium atom under extreme temperature, density, and confinement conditions, releasing neutrons and a large amount of energy that can be captured and stored. Unlike traditional energy sources such as the combustion of oil, natural gas, or coal, which require chemical reactions, fusion does not consume carbon or produce a large amount of waste.Compared to nuclear fission, fusion produces fewer byproducts and poses less harm.The fuel—hydrogen isotopes (commonly deuterium and tritium)—has a very high energy density, requiring much less quantity than fission fuels like uranium or plutonium, making fusion power plants more space and fuel-efficient.The energy output of fusion per unit of fuel can reach four times that of uranium-based fission, making it a more efficient and sustainable energy source.。

Michael Ponting：In the past five years, private investment in the fusion field has exceeded $12 billion (The Fusion Report), driving rapid development in the industry and technology. This momentum has prompted companies to go beyond core fusion technologies and focus on the development of supportive systems, such as fusion-specific capacitor films, which are crucial for grid-connected power supply.Fusion systems require advanced energy storage devices, whose performance depends on capacitor films that are more reliable and durable than existing films.As the number of global fusion prototype projects (over 70) increases, the entire supply chain, including consumables and auxiliary components, must expand accordingly.The demand for films is expected to double.This makes it the first emerging market capable of significantly expanding the capacitor film business. Fusion has transformative potential for the capacitor film industry and the future of energy.

Michael Ponting：Fusion demands higher requirements for capacitor film performance (higher energy storage, longer lifespan, extreme temperature tolerance).The industry needs to provide a large quantity of high-performance materials in a very short time—much shorter than the typical 10-year development cycle for new materials. The capacitors sought by fusion companies need to support billions of charge-discharge cycles, far exceeding the current capacitors' level of hundreds of thousands of cycles. According to market forecasts by Ignition Research, if fusion energy develops as expected, the surge in demand could lead to a dielectric film supply gap of 2-10 times the current industry level.Peak Nano has collaborated with leading companies such as Brückner to rapidly expand domestic production capacity in the United States, leveraging its manufacturing expertise and stable supply chain. Upgrading existing production lines with NanoPlex™ thin film technology aims to revitalize the capacitor film industry and accelerate the launch of high-performance products.In addition, we plan to directly supply advanced films to fusion companies with self-built capacitor production lines to meet their urgent needs.

Michael Ponting：The rapid growth of fusion is both a tremendous opportunity and a major challenge due to the limitations of existing manufacturing infrastructure.More than 70 fusion devices are currently under development worldwide.CausingCapacitor film and the entire supply chainIncluding resin supply, metallized coating, capacitor assembly, automation, etc.Surge in demandCurrently, capacitor manufacturing relies heavily on manual labor. In the future, production capacity needs to increase tenfold.Large-scale investment and process automation optimization are required.Despite Peak Nano and Brückner investing in advanced materials and manufacturing technologies, the entire ecosystem (from resin suppliers to capacitor integrators) also needs to simultaneously expand innovation.

Michael Ponting：Meeting the demands of fusion requires innovation and expansion across all aspects of the supply chain. As a critical component for igniting fusion reactions and achieving grid connection, the evolution of capacitor films is crucial.We must produce films capable of withstanding millions to billions of cycles, high temperatures, and rapid charging and discharging to support the advanced electronics of the new generation of fusion systems.With the improvement of film performance, supporting processes such as resin production, metallization coating, capacitor winding, and assembly also need to advance simultaneously. The success of fusion energy ultimately depends on our ability to deliver these high-performance materials on a large scale and on time.