Research project into laser-based inertial fusion begins in Germany

30 Dec 2024

The BMBF-funded IFE Targetry HUB project was launched on 20 December.

On December 20, Germany’s BMBF-funded IFE Targetry HUB project was launched with the aim of researching basic technologies for laser-based inertial confinement fusion.

The announcement from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics (IAF), stated, “Nuclear fusion has enormous potential to solve energy demand problems worldwide, but commercial use of this technology is still a long way off. This German joint project, consisting of 15 partners from research and industry under the leadership of IAF, is starting research on so-called targets, a key component of laser-based inertial confinement fusion.”

Following the first successful demonstration of nuclear fusion as a potential energy source at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, interest in the technology has grown rapidly around the world. However, there is still a long way to go before nuclear fusion can be used as a sustainable energy source and offer added value to society.

The BMBF-funded project “Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) Targetry HUB for DT Inertial Fusion” (IFE Targetry HUB, for short) is laying an important foundation for research into laser-based inertial fusion in Germany.

On December 20th, the IFE Targetry HUB project consortium, consisting of 15 partners coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF, met for the first time at the Technical University of Darmstadt for the project kick-off. The three-year project plan was discussed and the course was set for successful collaboration.

In the IFE Targetry HUB, the partners contribute their different expertise covering basic research, applied research and industry to jointly research suitable materials and processes for the functional and cost-efficient scalable production and characterization of so-called targets for laser-based inertial confinement fusion. These targets represent a bottleneck for efficient nuclear fusion and are therefore a key technology on the way to the laser-based fusion power plant of the future.

Small targets, big impact

Any form of laser-based inertial confinement fusion is a pulsed process in which a target filled with the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium is compressed and ignited using many high-energy laser beams as drivers. A temperature of up to 120 million degrees Celsius is reached, vaporizing the target and simultaneously compressing and heating the fuel under enormous pressure.

This triggers a fusion reaction in which the positively charged atomic nuclei overcome their mutual repulsion and fuse to form a new, more energetically favorable nucleus, releasing enormous amounts of energy.

Previous demonstrations have used spherical diamond targets as small as 1 mm in diameter. Target geometry, interface properties and purity as well as material quality are critical to the success of nuclear fusion. The IFE Targetry HUB is now developing and implementing high-precision manufacturing processes, such as additive manufacturing of foams or plasma coating and characterization of target components. The aim of the research is scalable target production that meets the high requirements for successful laser-based inertial confinement fusion.

The IFE Targetry HUB is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF. Fraunhofer IAF coordinates the project consortium, consisting of: Focused Energy; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology’s Tritium Laboratory; Technical University of Darmstadt; KERN Microtechnik; companies Diamond Materials, Plasmatreat, LightFab, ModuleWorks, and Herkula Farben; and other Fraunhofer institutes.