LLNL partners with Inertia to develop fusion energy technology

Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are partnering with San Francisco Bay Area fusion energy startup Inertia Enterprises Inc. with the aim of advancing fusion laser technology, as well as inertial fusion target manufacturing and designs.#

The collaboration is described by the partners as “an expansive and integrated private sector-led partnership, unique in the history of LLNL and the DOE national laboratory system.”

Kim Budil, director of LLNL, commented, “We are committed to ensuring that the 60 years of public investment, fusion leadership, and scientific breakthroughs achieved here don't stay in the laboratory. This partnership positions LLNL’s expertise in inertial fusion science, laser technology, physics design and target fabrication to directly inform the industrial-scale development that commercial fusion demands.”

Jean Paul Allain, director of the DOE Office of Fusion, added, “Fusion is one of the greatest scientific and technological challenges of our time, and it is one we simply cannot afford to lose. What makes this moment different is that we are no longer pursuing it in isolation. We are bringing together the full strength of our national labs, private industry and the broader innovation ecosystems to move from breakthrough to deployment.”

Jeff Lawson, CEO and co-founder of Inertia, said, “Decades of public investment in fusion science have created a foundation that only America’s national labs could have built. Inertia exists to take that foundation and do what the private sector does best: build at scale and deliver commercial impact.”

This new collaboration consists of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement focused on laser development, as well as two Strategic Partnership Projects (SPP). One SPP advances fusion target design, while the other explores target-fabrication technologies.

LLNL’s engagement in this partnership is managed by the Livermore Institute of Fusion Technology (LIFT), a newly established institute designed to strike breakthrough partnerships with the growing fusion energy industry, in collaboration with the Lab’s Innovation and Partnerships Office, which facilitated the CRADA.

“This expansive partnership will apply the lessons of achieving fusion ignition at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility toward making fusion energy a reality,” said Tammy Ma, director of LIFT at LLNL. “We are excited to break new ground with Inertia as we continue establishing public-private partnerships that move fusion forward.”

LIFT is well placed to help bridge the gap between research and future commercial fusion power by building collaborative frameworks supporting both startups and established companies with resources, expertise, and facilities to identify and tackle key scientific hurdles, while leaning on LLNL’s historical expertise to support the development of infrastructure, supply chain and talent.

Looking ahead, LIFT intends to build on this partnership to establish new mechanisms for collaboration with private industry and advance foundational capabilities for fusion energy.