February 5, 2025
San Francisco – February 5, 2025 – Focused Energy (“Focused”) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory today announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop a model simulating the behavior of low-density foams wetted with liquid deuterium and tritium during implosion.
Focused and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory were previously awarded competitive grant funding for the project through the Department of Energy’s Office of Science’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program, which aims to accelerate fusion energy development through public-private research partnerships.
“The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory demonstrated the fundamental physics of laser fusion when it achieved ignition in 2022,” said Scott Mercer, CEO of Focused Energy. “Now, we are evolving the targets, lasers, and facility design to move from scientific proof to continuous laser-driven fusion energy generation as we build off NIF’s approach. This partnership will advance Focused Energy’s research into how to optimize target design, underscoring the importance of public-private partnerships in advancing commercial fusion.”
In order for fusion to be commercially viable, the process for creating fusion fuel targets needs to be more efficient to scale with the high-repetition rate necessary for high-energy gain. A fusion power plant capable of sending power to the grid will require 10 fusion fuel targets per second.
Wetted foams offer a viable path to reduce the time it takes to make a deuterium-tritium layer within a fusion fuel target. However, there are uncertainties in the hydrodynamic behavior of the foam material during the implosion process. The simulation model developed under the CRADA will be used to set specifications on the foam properties required for a future laser fusion power plant. If successful, wetted foams could require less tritium for target production while decreasing costs and speeding up production.
Focused is building upon Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s groundbreaking work by pursuing direct drive laser fusion. The company will develop low-cost, millimeter-scale deuterium-tritium fuel targets capable of being produced at commercial scale at its fuel targetry lab located in Darmstadt, Germany. It will also test and optimize its laser systems at its new $65 million Laser Development Facility in the Bay Area located in close proximity to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Ultimately, Focused will combine its laser technology and fuel targets into an integrated engineering facility and then in a commercial-scale fusion power plant capable of net energy gain.
The company benefits from four additional Department of Energy INFUSE Awards and has raised more than $200 million in private capital and public grant funding.
About Focused Energy
Focused Energy is the leading laser-driven fusion company pursuing the most promising path to clean, limitless fusion power. The global company, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and Darmstadt, Germany, has brought together the top scientific and engineering minds using proven technologies to unlock fusion power at commercial scale. Focused Energy is working to unleash the next chapter of economic growth and scientific innovation through the widespread adoption of clean, abundant fusion power. To learn more, visit focused-energy.co.
About Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
For over 70 years, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place. The Lab’s mission is to enable U.S. security and global stability and resilience by empowering multidisciplinary teams to pursue bold and innovative science and technology. With exceptional work in preeminent areas of science and operations, the Lab’s influence doesn’t stop at our country’s borders — our innovations make the world a better place to live. To learn more about Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, visit https://www.llnl.gov/.