Wedoany.com Report-Mar 7, British fusion company First Light Fusion is opening up its amplifier technology for R&D for both the fusion industry and non-fusion sectors.
The approach marks a strategic change for First Light Fusion as it has decided to move away from the plan to build its own fusion power plant and instead to aim to capitalise on the market opportunities of the technology.
First Light Fusion has been pursuing an ‘inertial confinement’ approach to fusion with triggering of the fusion reaction via a projectile, rather than a laser as of other developers.
As part of this approach First Light Fusion has developed an ‘amplifier’ to increase the efficacy of the fusion reaction by both boosting and converging the pressure of the projectile impact on the fuel.
This in turn should enable fusion power plants to be built smaller, simpler and less energy intensive and ultimately to lower the attainable levelised cost of energy.
With its new strategy First light Fusion intends to enter into commercial partnerships with other inertial fusion companies and schemes where its amplifier technology can form a part of a commercial fusion power plant as well as partner with companies, universities and institutions in non-fusion sectors that can benefit from its technology and research facilities.
These include the UK’s largest two-stage gas gun and Europe’s largest pulsed power machine.
Pointing to advancements in the proprietary amplifier technology combined with progress in the wider inertial fusion energy sector as the stimulus for the shift in strategy, Mark Thomas, newly appointed CEO of First Light Fusion, says: “Our focus is clear: accelerating the path to commercial fusion by leveraging our amplifier technology to make fusion power faster, simpler and more cost-effective.
“By partnering with fusion companies worldwide, we can provide a critical piece of the supply chain for a viable fusion power plant. Developed and manufactured in Britain, this breakthrough will not only transform fusion but also open new frontiers in materials science and beyond.”
R&D partnerships
For the fusion industry, First Light Fusion intends to focus on the design and manufacture of consumable ‘targets’ embedded with the amplifier technology, tailored to meet potential partners’ specific needs for inertial driver schemes, with a wide range of approaches being developed in the US, Japan and Europe.
With fuel amplifiers representing approximately 20% of the inertial fusion value chain, this obviously presents a significant market opportunity.
First Light Fusion also reports being in discussions with multiple companies and institutions outside the fusion sector, with its amplifier technology and research facilities considered to have potential for materials research in sectors including energy, defence and space exploration.
Among the first of these the company has announced working with NASA and the Open University to explore the potential applicability of the amplifier technology in high velocity impact testing.
With space debris presenting an increasing risk for space exploration, tests could pave the way for new advances in shielding materials.
Simultaneous with these activities First Light Fusion intends to continue its partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, with further ‘shots’ on its Z Machine over the course of 2025 to explore the ultimate potential of the amplifier technology.
