More than a half-dozen startups are rushing to commercialize inertial confinement fusion breakthroughs, a deep-tech revolution. Companies like Xcimer Energy and Focused Energy are leading the charge. They are leading the world in efforts to harness the power of fusion.
Xcimer Energy have some very ambitious to reach practical fusion power. They hope to accomplish this through a revolutionary new combination of lasers and waterfalls of molten salt. Through this approach, their goal is to make fusion energy generation more efficient and viable. Focused Energy has already poured in tens of millions into its pursuit of fusion. And to supercharge their experimental capabilities, they’ve recently become home to two of the world’s most powerful lasers.
A BB-sized pellet takes center stage in these fusion experiments. It serves as the focal point for intense laser bursts. The pellet is injected into a 10-meter diameter spherical vacuum chamber. Within this chamber, 192 high-intensity laser beams focus down on the pellet. They provide a very large dose of energy in a highly focused and controlled package.
Earlier this month, the first net-positive shot of this unique fusion experiment celebrated a significant anniversary. In fact, it took an amazing 300 megajoules just to run the whole laser system! This momentous energy investment highlights just how complicated and difficult it is to succeed with fusion reactions. The landmark test run in 2022 was a transformative moment for this field. It produced 3.15 megajoules of energy, more than the 2.05 megajoules supplied to the fuel pellet. It marked the first time a controlled fusion reaction produced more energy than it used.
The most recent results from continuous experiments show some extraordinary progress over the 2022 experiment’s groundbreaking results. This has the potential to be a promising sign that momentum is building on this front. Xcimer Energy and Focused Energy have both been wildly successful. This recent wave of enthusiasm underscores the prospect that inertial confinement could one day be a promising pillar of clean energy.
Tim De Chant, a former senior climate reporter for TechCrunch, has been there every step of the way. De Chant received her PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley. His training as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in 2018 further deepens his skillset. This background provides him with a firm foundation to analyze and report on developments in energy technology.
