Amplitude and Focused Energy agree $40 M high-energy laser deal for fusion

18 Dec 2024

Aim is to develop two kilojoule-class high-rate lasers for new Focused Energy facility in San Francisco.

Amplitude, a developer ultrafast lasers, and Focused Energy, a company working to develop commercial fusion, have announced a strategic partnership to advance the field of inertial fusion energy (ICF). The collaboration focuses on the development of two high-energy, high-repetition rate laser systems, which will be installed at Focused Energy’s Laser Development Facility in San Francisco, Ca.. The development is supported and financed by Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations – SPRIND.

Scheduled to begin in early 2025 at Amplitude’s Lisses facility near Paris, the three-year development program builds on the global momentum for inertial fusion energy sparked by the fusion ignition breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in December 2022. This initiative places Amplitude at the forefront of worldwide efforts to develop clean energy solutions, leveraging cutting-edge laser technology to refine the parameters of Inertial Confinement Fusion and advance the promise of sustainable energy production.

Amplitude Laser Group President & CEO Damien Buet stated, “We are thrilled to push the boundaries of what is possible with our advanced laser technologies and contribute to this groundbreaking endeavor. Ten years of bold technological choices coupled with our leadership in cutting-edge research and industrial scalability will shape a brighter future powered by clean, sustainable energy.”

SPRIND Director Rafael Laguna de la Vera added, “Fusion is one of the most significant breakthrough innovations on the horizon and abundant energy the fundament for others to come. But overcoming the remaining technological challenges in fusion will require collective international efforts. Collaborations like this will accelerate the development of commercial fusion to meet the urgent demand for green energy.”

Scott Mercer, CEO of Focused Energy, commented, “This is a landmark moment on our path to commercial laser fusion, building off the National Ignition Facility’s groundbreaking work two years ago. These laser systems will serve as the technological foundation from which Focused Energy will build the modular laser arrays necessary for a fusion pilot plant capable of supplying clean energy to the grid.”

Amplitude has long been a pioneer in state-of-the-art laser technology, reshaping industrial processes, advancing medical breakthroughs, and powering Nobel-caliber science. Its unique installations are deployed worldwide, notably at the Extreme Light Infrastructure for Hungary (ELIALPS), the DRACO and RELAX lasers in Dresden and Hamburg in Germany, the VEGA platform in Salamanca, Spain, and the ALLS system in Montreal, Canada.

Further applications

On the path to inertial fusion, further offshoot applications are likely to emerge. The company envisions a future where these advancements find use in fields such as non-destructive testing in healthcare, medical imaging, and a variety of industrial processes. These laser innovations promise to drive significant progress—improving healthcare outcomes, increasing industrial efficiency, and creating a lasting positive impact on society.

Amplitude has a record of taking on complex technologies and developing scalable solutions that disrupt the market. A prime example of this is the company's groundbreaking work in ophthalmology, where in 2007, Amplitude pioneered the integration of ultrafast femtosecond lasers into laser eye surgery systems. This innovation scaled to thousands of installations worldwide, continues to benefit millions of patients today.

Based in Pessac near Bordeaux, France, Amplitude benefits from strong regional support, including the Cité de la Photonique hub and the ALPHA-RLH deep tech competitiveness cluster. This program will draw on a range of the company’s technologies and consolidate expertise from its facilities in Lisses, Pessac, and Antibes.