Fusion company Focused Energy and laser group Amplitude have announced a partnership to advance two laser systems for inertial fusion energy. The new technology will help develop and determine the laser parameters ultimately needed to commercialise Focused Energy’s direct drive laser fusion approach. The kilo-joule class lasers are designed to test the physics needed for efficient direct-drive compression of deuterium-tritium fusion fuel targets. They will operate at enhanced repetition rates of one shot every 60 seconds, enabling rapid design iteration.
The beamlines will be installed at Focused Energy’s $65 million Laser Development Facility which will be located in the San Francisco Bay Area and that was announced in 2024. Focused Energy’s team will use the laser systems to test and optimise laser performance and fusion target design as part of a technology risk reduction programme. Focused Energy’s direct drive laser fusion approach uses lasers to compress and then ignite millimetre-scale deuterium/tritium fusion fuel targets. The Laser Development Facility complements a fuel targetry lab in Darmstadt, Germany, where the company is developing its low-cost deuterium/tritium fuel targets.
The latest development is supported and financed by the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations in Germany (SPRIND).
“This is a landmark moment on our path to commercial laser fusion, building off the National Ignition Facility’s groundbreaking work two years ago. These laser systems will serve as the technological foundation from which Focused Energy will build the modular laser arrays necessary for a fusion pilot plant capable of supplying clean energy to the grid,” said Scott Mercer, CEO of Focused Energy.
Amplitude Laser Group President and CEO Damien Buet added, “We are thrilled to push the boundaries of what is possible with our advanced laser technologies and contribute to this groundbreaking endeavour.”
