Launch HN: Maritime Fusion (YC W25) – Fusion Reactors for Ships

Hey HN, we’re Justin and Jason, co-founders of Maritime Fusion ( https://maritimefusion.com/ ). We’re working on putting fusion reactors on ships—specifically, large container ships and defence applications. Should be easy! Yes, we know: fusion has been the energy source of the future…and it always will be. But high-temperature superconductors (HTS) have changed the game for magnetic confinement, and we believe we’ll witness Q > 1 within a few (say 3) years. That’s huge. (Side note: Q is the ratio of input power divided by output power. Q> 1 means the reactor is producing more power than it consumes, achieving ‘breakeven.’) However, getting to breakeven is just the first daunting challenge. Making the first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors cost-competitive on the grid? That might be even harder than achieving breakeven. That’s why we’re taking this soon-to-be breakthrough in fusion and applying it to the first market we believe makes sense: ships. Instead of targeting 24&