Introducing Hall-2.0 Next-generation Hall plasma thruster

physics developed under the guidance of
the inventors of the original Hall thrusters – a new and better Hall design concept for small
satellites.

Following 10 years of research by a world-leading expert in electric propulsion at Israel’s leading technical university – the Technion - comes the next generation of Hall thrusters, "Hall-2.0", offering substantial advantages over today's Hall plasma thrusters used in thousands of satellites.

Today’s Hall thrusters were originally developed for much larger satellites,

requiring high voltage and power consumption. Typically, plasma is generated at high energy inside the cylindrical walls and exits through a wide annular channel to provide thrust (show front view of typical Hall).

However, the high energy plasma bombards the inner walls, causing surface damage and erosion, thus limiting the useful lifetime. Recently, complex magnetic fields have been applied to try to keep the plasma away from the walls, to reduce erosion to some extent, but these require complex magnetic field configuration and circuitry increasing mass, weight, and power consumption – the opposite of what small satellites need.

Simple down-scaling the design from large satellites to fit on smaller satellites and operate at lower power results in poor engine efficiency, and does not address the engine erosion limitations.

A new approach to Hall thrusters.

To solve this, Dr. Igal Kronhaus worked 10 years to invent Hall-2.0 - a patented redesign of the original Hall thruster concept, using a narrow exit channel (show cross-section and front views) together with unique electrical and magnetic field configuration and optimized gas flow, to achieve unprecedented fuel efficiency and thrust performance, offering up to 50% savings in fuel, mass, and footprint.

Long engine life – by design.

Also, in this unique Hall-2.0 approach, the high energy plasma plume is forced almost entirely outside the exit, minimizing erosion naturally – without needing complex magnetic circuitry or constructs.

Unprecedented performance at lowest power levels

for smallest satellites (Show slide down to 15W). At the lower power levels available on the smaller satellites, SPTI/SPX have the only thruster capable of operating below 40W, As seen in the graph, Hall-2.0 can provide thrust in the 1 mN range down to 15-20W, whereas a competitor stops functioning below 35 V.

Superior performance for most small satellites – “a better mousetrap”

As shown in the chart for typical mid-power satellites (e.g. 300-500W range), Hall-2.0 provides the best combination of thrust and fuel efficiency.

Making Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) accessible for smaller satellites.

Hall-2.0 could make VLEO accessible for Smaller satellites – Now, for the first time, the many advantages of the lower altitude Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) may be attainable using smaller and less expensive satellites, thanks to Hall-2.0.
Until now, to stay in orbit in VLEO and achieve 5-10 years of mission life despite the constant atmospheric drag, required the use of high voltage thrusters. These typcally require kilowatts of onboard power in order to maintain high fuel economy, so as to manage the weight and cost of expensive propellant, but require larger and heavier solar panels in order to power them.
Hall-2.0 voltage and power consumption are much lower than today’s Hall thrusters, due to its patented new design optimized for high fuel economy and thrust, with low mass and footprint.
Hall-2.0 thus reduces the need for large, heavy solar panels, or frees up more power to run the payload.
All these add up to key advantages for Hall-2.0, making VLEO now more accessible for smaller satellites.