The University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and Focused Energy Inc. have announced a $6.9 million research partnership to address key technical challenges in inertial fusion energy (IFE) and advance progress toward commercial fusion power.
The agreement extends an existing DOE INFUSE-funded collaboration between the two organizations and sits within IFE-COLoR, the DOE-sponsored consortium led by LLE to advance broadband laser-plasma interaction science, of which Focused Energy is already a member.
The collaboration targets laser-plasma instabilities (LPI), including Cross-Beam Energy Transfer, Stimulated Raman Scatter, and Two-Plasmon Decay. These effects can redirect energy away from fusion targets and reduce ignition efficiency. LLE will apply its experimental and modeling capabilities, including the FLUX broadband laser system, to investigate and mitigate them.
Conceptual Rendering of Focused Energy’s Pilot Power Plant, Source: Focused Energy
Over the multi-year agreement, the partners will couple experiments with advanced modeling to scale results from Omega-class facilities to conditions relevant to Focused Energy's planned Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP). They will also design and test target concepts, including Hybrid Shock configurations, aimed at improving stability and performance. Findings will be shared through joint publications.
Christopher Deeney, Director of LLE, described the partnership as an extension of the lab's existing national security mission: "Partnering with Focused Energy means that the foundation now serves a second critical national interest: delivering clean, sustainable fusion energy and creating new U.S. industries."
Thomas Forner, Co-Founder and CEO of Focused Energy, said: "Partnering with LLE allows us to directly connect frontier plasma physics research with the engineering challenges of our Fusion Pilot Plant, an essential step toward making inertial fusion energy a practical source of clean, firm power."
Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) is a research facility at the University of Rochester operating the OMEGA and OMEGA EP laser systems. LLE leads the IFE-COLoR consortium and the IFE-STAR ecosystem, both DOE-funded programs advancing inertial fusion energy science. The lab has supported the National Nuclear Security Administration's stockpile stewardship program since its founding in 1970.
Focused Energy is a fusion energy company developing a laser direct-drive inertial confinement fusion approach with proprietary fuel capsule designs. Founded in 2021, the company is working toward a Fusion Pilot Plant and participates in multiple DOE-funded IFE research consortia.
Source: Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester | optics.org