Fusion Startup Focused Energy Congratulates the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on their recent breakthrough Results from the National Ignition Facility

Posted on 2021-08-18 by wilskyw in Environment // 0 Comments

Berlin, Germany, 2021-Aug-19 — /EPR Network/ — The laser fusion startup company Focused Energy congratulates the science team of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on their recent result, in which they have observed a record fusion energy yield of 1.3 MJ, putting NIF on the threshold of achieving ignition in laser-driven fusion for the first time.

“This is an outstanding, exciting result and is a dramatic milestone on the difficult path to controlled fusion energy. This work by the NIF team highlights the great progress that has been made in recent years understanding the physics of inertial confinement fusion as well as progress in laser and target technology” says Prof. Todd Ditmire, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Focused Energy.

“We have always believed in the ultimate success of our friends and colleagues at LLNL. We are proud of the team, and we are proud to have had the opportunity to work in close collaboration with many of the scientists and our colleagues of this team for many years” added Prof. Markus Roth, Chief Science Officer and co-founder of Focused Energy.

Both Prof. Ditmire and Prof. Roth started their careers working at LLNL more than 20 years ago where they worked on developing high intensity lasers, helped construct parts of the NIF in the early stages of the project, and pioneered ultra-intense laser-matter interactions. They have worked closely with LLNL over the years as academic scientists, performing collaborative experiments, working at times as visiting scientists, consultants and working together as supervisors of joint students with the lab.

“Since our time at LLNL we have been working in the field of laser fusion, investigating pathways to commercial fusion energy and spearheading the concept of proton fast ignition in fusion energy, a novel concept our company Focused Energy is developing in close collaboration with the international science community” adds Prof. Dr. Roth having invented the idea of proton fast ignition while working as a scientist at LLNL on the first Petawatt laser system in the world.

“The timing of the exciting Livermore result could not be any more perfect, just as modern laser technology now allows for the commercialization of inertial fusion energy” comments Dr. Anika Stein, Chief Operating Officer of Focused Energy. The concept of Focused Energy is to build on decades of research and the progress made by LLNL, and their partner labs at Los Alamos, Sandia and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in Rochester. The recent result at NIF emphasizes the timeliness of commercializing inertial fusion energy. Prof. Roth and Prof. Ditmire are both particularly happy that they have had the opportunity to work side by side in the lab with some of the science leaders at LLNL over the years, like the Chief Designer of the NIF experiment Andrea Kritcher and Lab Director, Kim Budil.

Focused Energy is a startup out of the University of Technology in Darmstadt. The company is working with some of the leading experts in the field of fusion and will work in close partnership with European and US Laboratories in its goal of commercializing fusion energy based on laser-driven inertial fusion and fast ignition. The Focused Energy approach builds on the traditional fusion concept being developed at LLNL and adds a variation to enable a commercially attractive inertial fusion solution that uses somewhat smaller facilities, higher power output and lower fuel consumption.

“We are dedicated in bringing fusion energy into this world on a timescale in which we make an impact on climate change, providing clean, safe and reliable energy, wherever and whenever it is needed” says Thomas Forner, CEO of Focused Energy, “We have a dedicated team and we are moving at the speed of a startup, but with the experience of a world-wide community.”

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Picture: Copyright Focused Energy

About Focused Energy
Focused Energy is a startup dedicated to developing fusion as a means of generating clean alternative energy for the growing needs of society. The company is supported by the TU Darmstadt and was founded in July 2021 after years of extensive research. The founding and management team encompasses entrepreneur Thomas Forner (CEO Focused Energy), engineer Dr. Anika Stein (COO Focused Energy) as well as the two laser and fusion experts Prof. Dr. Markus Roth (TU Darmstadt, CSO Focused Energy) and Prof. Dr. Todd Ditmire (UT Austin/Texas, CTO Focused Energy).

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