SLAC to advance fusion target technology through DOE FIRE Collaboratives

SLAC to advance fusion target technology through DOE FIRE Collaboratives
by Erin Woodward
Stanford CA (SPX) Feb 21, 2025

Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will play a key role in the newly launched Fusion Innovative Research Engine (FIRE) Collaboratives, a DOE initiative designed to connect foundational scientific research with the growing needs of the fusion energy sector. As part of this effort, the DOE has committed $107 million in funding to support six specialized projects.

SLAC will contribute to the Target Injector Nexus for Experimental Development (TINEX) Collaborative, a consortium led by General Atomics that includes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Colorado State University, Stanford University, and the University of California, San Diego. Neil Alexander, director of Inertial Fusion Energy at General Atomics, will oversee TINEX, with SLAC senior staff scientist Arianna Gleason serving as deputy director. This initiative aims to resolve key technological challenges in making inertial fusion energy (IFE) commercially viable.

IFE replicates the fusion process that powers the sun by using high-powered lasers to compress gas-filled targets inside a confinement chamber, triggering atomic fusion and generating immense heat. This heat can then be converted into a sustainable energy source.

The TINEX team will focus on optimizing fusion fuel targets and addressing potential hurdles for large-scale power production. These include controlling debris in the confinement chamber, reducing optical damage from target capsule fragments, improving capsule resilience under extreme temperatures, and developing tracking sensors for precise laser targeting of rapidly moving capsules.

"SLAC is bringing our expertise in high energy density science and lasers to this collaborative effort to overcome critical technological challenges and clear the path to commercialized fusion energy," said Siegfried Glenzer, a SLAC professor and director of SLAC's High Energy Density Science Division.

SLAC will receive over $1 million annually to develop advanced target tracking systems that will enable precise measurement of each target's position within the confinement chamber, ensuring lasers consistently strike their intended marks.

Additionally, an industrial council composed of leading inertial fusion power plant companies will collaborate with TINEX, offering industry perspectives and feedback on the project's technological advancements.

"Lessons learned from the TINEX collaboration will benefit both industry and academic institutions. De-risking key technologies and building up the fusion workforce are important steps toward realizing fusion energy at the grid-scale," said Arianna Gleason, senior staff scientist at SLAC and deputy director of the TINEX Collaborative.