LaserFusionX

Founded: 2022

Website: https://laserfusionx.net

LaserFusionX – founded in 2022 and based in Springfield, Virginia – is developing an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) approach centred on argon fluoride (ArF) excimer lasers operating in the deep ultraviolet spectrum at 193nm. The company argues that the shorter laser wavelength enables higher implosion pressures, improved hydrodynamic stability, reduced laser–plasma instabilities, and materially higher overall target efficiency relative to conventional longer-wavelength laser systems.

The company is pursuing a direct-drive laser fusion architecture designed to support high-gain, high-repetition-rate fusion systems with improved wall-plug efficiency and potentially smaller, lower-cost commercial plants. LaserFusionX’s technical approach builds on decades of excimer laser and inertial fusion research, including collaborations with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and researchers associated with the NIKE and Electra laser programmes.

LaserFusionX ultimately envisages a ~400 MW deuterium–tritium (DT) pilot fusion power plant as a pathway toward commercially deployable laser fusion energy systems.