Editing Inertial confinement fusion (section)

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of nuclear fusion}}

===Conception===

====United States====
ICF history began as part of the "[[Atoms for Peace|Atoms For Peace]]" conference in 1957. This was an international, UN-sponsored conference between the US and the [[Soviet Union]]. Some thought was given to using a hydrogen bomb to heat a water-filled cavern. The resulting steam could then be used to power conventional generators, and thereby provide electrical power.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=1}}

This meeting led to [[Operation Plowshare]], formed in June 1957 and formally named in 1961. It included three primary concepts; energy generation under Project PACER, the use of nuclear explosions for excavation, and for [[fracking]] in the [[natural gas]] industry. PACER was directly tested in December 1961 when the 3&nbsp;kt [[Project Gnome]] device was detonated in bedded salt in New Mexico. While the press looked on, radioactive steam was released from the drill shaft, at some distance from the test site. Further studies designed engineered cavities to replace natural ones, but Plowshare turned from bad to worse, especially after the failure of 1962's [[Sedan (nuclear test)|Sedan]] which produced significant [[fallout]]. PACER continued to receive funding until 1975, when a 3rd party study demonstrated that the cost of electricity from PACER would be ten times the cost of conventional nuclear plants.<ref>F.A. Long, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4QsAAAAAMBAJ "Peaceful nuclear explosions"], ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'', October 1976, pp. 24-25.</ref>

Another outcome of Atoms For Peace was to prompt [[John Nuckolls]] to consider what happens on the fusion side of the bomb as fuel mass is reduced. This work suggested that at sizes on the order of milligrams, little energy would be needed to ignite the fuel, much less than a fission primary.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=1}} He proposed building, in effect, tiny all-fusion explosives using a tiny drop of D-T fuel suspended in the center of a hohlraum. The shell provided the same effect as the bomb casing in an H-bomb, trapping x-rays inside to irradiate the fuel. The main difference is that the X-rays would be supplied by an external device that heated the shell from the outside until it was glowing in the x-ray region. The power would be delivered by a then-unidentified pulsed power source he referred to, using bomb terminology, as the "primary".{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=2}}

The main advantage to this scheme is the fusion efficiency at high densities. According to the Lawson criterion, the amount of energy needed to heat the D-T fuel to break-even conditions at ambient pressure is perhaps 100 times greater than the energy needed to compress it to a pressure that would deliver the same rate of fusion. So, in theory, the ICF approach could offer dramatically more gain.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=2}} This can be understood by considering the energy losses in a conventional scenario where the fuel is slowly heated, as in the case of [[magnetic fusion energy]]; the rate of energy loss to the environment is based on the temperature difference between the fuel and its surroundings, which continues to increase as the fuel temperature increases. In the ICF case, the entire hohlraum is filled with high-temperature radiation, limiting losses.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=3}}

==== Germany ====

In 1956 a meeting was organized at the [[Max Planck Society|Max Planck Institute]] in Germany by fusion pioneer [[Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker]]. At this meeting [[Friedwardt Winterberg]] proposed the non-fission ignition of a thermonuclear micro-explosion by a convergent shock wave driven with high explosives.<ref>Archives of Library University of Stuttgart, Konvolut 7, Estate of Professor Dr. Hoecker, 1956 von Weizsäcker, Meeting in Göttingen</ref> Further reference to Winterberg's work in Germany on nuclear micro explosions (mininukes) is contained in a declassified report of the former East German [[Stasi]] (Staatsicherheitsdienst).<ref>Stasi Report of the former East German Democratic Republic, MfS-AGM by "Der Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatsicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik," Zentralarchiv, Berlin, 1987</ref>

In 1964 Winterberg proposed that ignition could be achieved by an intense beam of microparticles accelerated to a speed of 1000&nbsp;km/s.<ref>F. Winterberg, Z. f. Naturforsch. 19a, 231 (1964)</ref> In 1968, he proposed to use intense electron and ion beams generated by [[Marx generator]]s for the same purpose.<ref>F. Winterberg, Phys. Rev. 174, 212 (1968)</ref> The advantage of this proposal is that charged particle beams are not only less expensive than laser beams, but can entrap the charged fusion reaction products due to the strong self-magnetic beam field, drastically reducing the compression requirements for beam ignited cylindrical targets.

==== USSR ====

In 1967, research fellow [[Gurgen Askaryan]] published an article proposing the use of focused laser beams in the fusion of [[lithium deuteride]] or deuterium.<ref name=nauka>{{cite journal|url=http://publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/N/%27%27Nauka_i_jizn%27%27%27/%27%27Nauka_i_jizn%27%27%27%2C1967%2CN10.%5Bpdf%5D.zip|author=Gurgen Askaryan|script-title=ru:Новые физические эффекты|trans-title=New Physical Effects|language=ru|journal=[[Nauka i Zhizn]]|volume=11|year=1967|page=105|author-link=Gurgen Askaryan|access-date=2016-09-22|archive-date=2016-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409190424/http://publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/N/%27%27Nauka_i_jizn%27%27%27/%27%27Nauka_i_jizn%27%27%27%2C1967%2CN10.%5Bpdf%5D.zip|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Early research===
Through the late 1950s,   and collaborators at [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] (LLNL) completed computer simulations of the ICF concept. In early 1960, they performed a full simulation of the implosion of 1&nbsp;mg of D-T fuel inside a dense shell. The simulation suggested that a 5 MJ power input to the hohlraum would produce 50 MJ of fusion output, a gain of 10x. This was before the laser and a variety of other possible drivers were considered, including pulsed power machines, charged particle accelerators, plasma guns, and [[hypervelocity]] pellet guns.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=4}}

Two theoretical advances advanced the field. One came from new simulations that considered the timing of the energy delivered in the pulse, known as "pulse shaping", leading to better implosion. The second was to make the shell much larger and thinner, forming a thin shell as opposed to an almost solid ball. These two changes dramatically increased implosion efficiency and thereby greatly lowered the required compression energy. Using these improvements, it was calculated that a driver of about 1 MJ would be needed,{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=5}} a five-fold reduction. Over the next two years, other theoretical advancements were proposed, notably [[Ray Kidder]]'s development of an implosion system without a hohlraum, the so-called "direct drive" approach, and [[Stirling Colgate]] and Ron Zabawski's work on systems with as little as 1 μg of D-T fuel.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|pp=4-5}}

The introduction of the laser in 1960 at [[HRL Laboratories|Hughes Research Laboratories]] in California appeared to present a perfect driver mechanism. However, the maximum power produced by these devices appeared very limited, far below what would be needed. This was addressed with [[Gordon Gould]]'s introduction of the [[Q-switching]] which was applied to lasers in 1961 at [[Hughes Research Laboratories]]. Q-switching allows a laser amplifier to be pumped to very high energies without starting [[stimulated emission]], and then triggered to release this energy in a burst by introducing a tiny seed signal. With this technique it appeared any limits to laser power were well into the region that would be useful for ICF.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Thomas |last=Mahlhorn |title=From KMS Fusion to HB11 Energy and Xcimer Energy, a personal 50 year IFE perspective |journal=Physics of Plasmas |date=28 February 2024 |volume=31 |issue=2 |doi=10.1063/5.0170661 |url=https://pubs.aip.org/aip/pop/article/31/2/020602/3267722/From-KMS-Fusion-to-HB11-Energy-and-Xcimer-Energy-a|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Starting in 1962,{{efn|Mahlhorn says 1963.}} Livermore's director [[John S. Foster, Jr.]] and [[Edward Teller]] began a small ICF laser study. Even at this early stage the suitability of ICF for weapons research was well understood and was the primary reason for its funding.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=6}} Over the next decade, LLNL made small experimental devices for basic laser-plasma interaction studies.

===Development begins===
In 1967 [[Kip Siegel]] started KMS Industries. In the early 1970s he formed [[KMS Fusion]] to begin development of a laser-based ICF system.<ref name=Johnston>Sean Johnston, [http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/29299.html "Interview with Dr. Larry Siebert"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012113800/http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/29299.html |date=2012-10-12 }}, American Institute of Physics, 4 September 2004</ref> This development led to considerable opposition from the weapons labs, including LLNL, who put forth a variety of reasons that KMS should not be allowed to develop ICF in public. This opposition was funnelled through the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]], which controlled funding. Adding to the background noise were rumours of an aggressive Soviet ICF program, new higher-powered CO<sub>2</sub> and glass lasers, the electron beam driver concept, and the [[1970s energy crisis|energy crisis]] which added impetus to many energy projects.{{sfn|Nuckolls|1998|p=6}}

In 1972 [[John Nuckolls]] wrote a paper introducing ICF and suggesting that testbed systems could be made to generate fusion with drivers in the kJ range, and high-gain systems with MJ drivers.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Nuckolls |first1=John |last2=Wood |first2=Lowell |last3=Thiessen |first3=Albert |last4=Zimmerman |first4=George |title=Laser Compression of Matter to Super-High Densities: Thermonuclear (CTR) Applications |journal=Nature |volume=239 |issue=5368 |year=1972 |pages=139–142 |doi=10.1038/239139a0 |bibcode = 1972Natur.239..139N |s2cid=45684425 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Lindl |first=J.D. |contribution=The Edward Teller medal lecture: The evolution toward Indirect Drive and two decades of progress toward ICF ignition and burn |year=1993 |title=International workshop on laser interaction and related plasma phenomena |publisher=Department of Energy (DOE)'s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) |url=http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10126383-6NAuBK/native/10126383.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10126383-6NAuBK/native/10126383.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref>

In spite of limited resources and business problems, [[KMS Fusion]] successfully demonstrated IFC fusion on 1 May 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200912/backpage.cfm |first=Philip |last=Wyatt |title=The Back Page |publisher=Aps.org |date=December 2009 |access-date=2014-08-23}}</ref> This success was soon followed by Siegel's death and the end of KMS Fusion a year later.<ref name=Johnston/> By this point several weapons labs and universities had started their own programs, notably the [[solid-state laser]]s ([[List of laser types#Solid-state lasers|Nd:glass laser]]s) at LLNL and the [[University of Rochester]], and [[krypton fluoride]] [[excimer laser]]s systems at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]] and the [[Naval Research Laboratory]].

==="High-energy" ICF===
High-energy ICF experiments (multi-hundred joules per shot) began in the early 1970s, when better lasers appeared. Funding for fusion research was stimulated by [[energy crisis|energy crises]] produced rapid gains in performance, and inertial designs were soon reaching the same sort of "below break-even" conditions of the best MCF systems.

LLNL was, in particular, well funded and started a laser fusion development program. Their [[Janus laser]] started operation in 1974, and validated the approach of using Nd:glass lasers for high power devices. Focusing problems were explored in the [[Long path laser|Long path]] and [[Cyclops laser]]s, which led to the larger [[Argus laser]]. None of these were intended to be practical devices, but they increased confidence that the approach was valid. It was then believed that a much larger device of the Cyclops type could both compress and heat targets, leading to ignition. This misconception was based on extrapolation of the fusion yields seen from experiments utilizing the so-called "exploding pusher" fuel capsule. During the late 1970s and early 1980s the estimates for laser energy on target needed to achieve ignition doubled almost yearly as plasma instabilities and laser-plasma energy coupling loss modes were increasingly understood. The realization that exploding pusher target designs and single-digit kilojoule (kJ) laser irradiation intensities would never scale to high yields led to the effort to increase laser energies to the 100 kJ level in the [[ultraviolet]] band and to the production of advanced ablator and cryogenic DT ice target designs.

===Shiva and Nova===
One of the earliest large scale attempts at an ICF driver design was the [[Shiva laser]], a 20-beam neodymium doped glass laser system at LLNL that started operation in 1978. Shiva was a "proof of concept" design intended to demonstrate compression of fusion fuel capsules to many times the liquid density of hydrogen. In this, Shiva succeeded, reaching 100 times the liquid density of deuterium. However, due to the laser's coupling with hot electrons, premature heating of the dense plasma was problematic and fusion yields were low. This failure to efficiently heat the compressed plasma pointed to the use of [[optical frequency multiplier]]s as a solution that would frequency triple the infrared light from the laser into the ultraviolet at 351&nbsp;nm. Schemes to efficiently triple the frequency of laser light discovered at the [[Laboratory for Laser Energetics]] in 1980 was experimented with in the 24 beam OMEGA laser and the [[NOVETTE laser]], which was followed by the [[Nova (laser)|Nova laser]] design with 10 times Shiva's energy, the first design with the specific goal of reaching ignition.

Nova also failed, this time due to severe variation in laser intensity in its beams (and differences in intensity between beams) caused by filamentation that resulted in large non-uniformity in irradiation smoothness at the target and asymmetric implosion. The techniques pioneered earlier could not address these new issues. This failure led to a much greater understanding of the process of implosion, and the way forward again seemed clear, namely to increase the uniformity of irradiation, reduce hot-spots in the laser beams through beam smoothing techniques to reduce Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities and increase laser energy on target by at least an order of magnitude. Funding was constrained in the 1980s.

===National Ignition Facility===
[[File:U.S. Department of Energy - Science - 115 057 004 (17974887118).jpg|thumb|National Ignition Facility target chamber]]
The resulting 192-beam design, dubbed the [[National Ignition Facility]], started construction at LLNL in 1997. NIF's main objective is to operate as the flagship experimental device of the so-called [[Stockpile stewardship|nuclear stewardship program]], supporting LLNLs traditional bomb-making role. Completed in March 2009,<ref>{{cite web |first=Bob |last=Hirschfeld |url=https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/news_releases/2009/NR-NNSA-09-03-06.html |title=DOE announces completion of world's largest laser |publisher=Publicaffairs.llnl.gov |date=March 31, 2009 |access-date=2014-08-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527190408/https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/news_releases/2009/NR-NNSA-09-03-06.html |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }}</ref> NIF experiments set new records for power delivery by a laser.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8485669.stm| title=Laser fusion test results raise energy hopes| work=BBC News| author=Jason Palmer| date=2010-01-28| access-date=2010-01-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/news_releases/2010/NR-10-01-06.html| title=Initial NIF experiments meet requirements for fusion ignition| publisher=[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]]| date=2010-01-28| access-date=2010-01-28| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527171341/https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/news_releases/2010/NR-10-01-06.html| archive-date=2010-05-27}}</ref> As of September 27, 2013, for the first time fusion energy generated was greater than the energy absorbed into [[Deuterium–tritium fusion|deuterium–tritium]] fuel.<ref>{{cite journal |author =Philip Ball |title =Laser fusion experiment extracts net energy from fuel |pages =12–27 |journal =[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |date =12 February 2014 |url =http://www.nature.com/news/laser-fusion-experiment-extracts-net-energy-from-fuel-1.14710 |doi =10.1038/nature.2014.14710|s2cid =138079001 | access-date =2014-02-13 |author-link =Philip Ball }}</ref><ref name="milestone">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621|title=Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab|date=7 October 2013|work=BBC News|quote=fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel|access-date=8 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hurricane |first1=O. A. |last2=Callahan |first2=D. A.|author2-link=Debra Callahan |last3=Casey |first3=D. T. |last4=Celliers |first4=P. M. |last5=Cerjan |first5=C. |last6=Dewald |first6=E. L. |last7=Dittrich |first7=T. R. |last8=Döppner |first8=T. |last9=Hinkel |first9=D. E. |last10=Hopkins |first10=L. F. Berzak |last11=Kline |first11=J. L. |last12=Le Pape |first12=S. |last13=Ma |first13=T. |last14=MacPhee |first14=A. G. |last15=Milovich |first15=J. L. |date=2014-02-20 |title=Fuel gain exceeding unity in an inertially confined fusion implosion |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13008 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=506 |issue=7488 |pages=343–348 |doi=10.1038/nature13008 |pmid=24522535 |bibcode=2014Natur.506..343H |s2cid=4466026 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref> In June, 2018 NIF announced record production of 54kJ of fusion energy output.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.llnl.gov/news/nif-achieves-record-double-fusion-yield| title=NIF achieves record double fusion yield| publisher=[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]]| date=2018-06-13| access-date=2019-11-11}}</ref> On August 8, 2021<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scitechdaily.com/nuclear-fusion-energy-breakthrough-ignition-confirmed-in-record-1-3-megajoule-shot/amp/|title=Nuclear Fusion Energy Breakthrough: Ignition Confirmed in Record 1.3 Megajoule Shot|date=August 14, 2022|first1=Lawrence|last1=Livermore}}</ref> the NIF produced 1.3MJ of output, 25x higher than the 2018 result, generating 70% of the break-even definition of ignition - when energy out equals energy in.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2021-09-28|title=Fusion news ignites optimism|journal=Nature Photonics|language=en|volume=15|issue=10|pages=713|doi=10.1038/s41566-021-00890-z|bibcode=2021NaPho..15..713.|issn=1749-4893|doi-access=free}}</ref>
As of December 2022, the NIF claims<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fusion Energy Breakthrough Scam {{!}} New Energy Times |url=https://news.newenergytimes.net/2022/12/11/fusion-energy-breakthrough-scam/ |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=news.newenergytimes.net}}</ref> to have become the first fusion experiment to achieve [[Fusion energy gain factor#Scientific breakeven at NIF|scientific breakeven]] on December 5, 2022, with an experiment producing 3.15 megajoules of energy from a 2.05 megajoule input of laser light (somewhat less than the energy needed to boil 1&nbsp;kg of water) for an energy gain of about 1.5.<ref name="igntion2022-llnl">{{Cite web |title=National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition |url=https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-achieves-fusion-ignition |access-date=December 13, 2022 |website=www.llnl.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=DOE National Laboratory Makes History by Achieving Fusion Ignition |url=https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-national-laboratory-makes-history-achieving-fusion-ignition |access-date=December 13, 2022 |website=Energy.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Scientists Achieve Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough With Blast of 192 Lasers |author=Kenneth Chang |date=December 13, 2022 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/science/nuclear-fusion-energy-breakthrough.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bush |first1=Evan |last2=Lederman |first2=Josh |date=December 13, 2022 |title=We have 'ignition': Fusion breakthrough draws energy gain |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/fusion-breakthrough-net-energy-gain-rcna61326 |access-date=December 13, 2022 |website=[[NBC News]]}}</ref>

===Other projects===
The French [[Laser Mégajoule]] achieved its first experimental line in 2002, and its first target shots were conducted in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www-lmj.cea.fr/fr/lmj/index.htm |title=Le Laser Mégajoule |access-date=2016-10-08 |archive-date=2016-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811004348/http://www-lmj.cea.fr/fr/lmj/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The machine was roughly 75% complete as of 2016.

Using a different approach entirely is the [[z-pinch|''z''-pinch]] device. ''Z''-pinch uses massive electric currents switched into a cylinder comprising extremely fine wires. The wires vaporize to form an electrically conductive, high current plasma. The resulting circumferential magnetic field squeezes the plasma cylinder, imploding it, generating a high-power x-ray pulse that can be used to implode a fuel capsule. Challenges to this approach include relatively low drive temperatures, resulting in slow implosion velocities and potentially large instability growth, and preheat caused by high-energy x-rays.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sandia.gov/pulsedpower/prog_cap/pub_papers/010607a.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117115440/http://www.sandia.gov/pulsedpower/prog_cap/pub_papers/010607a.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Z-Pinch Power Plant a Pulsed Power Driven System for Fusion Energy|archivedate=January 17, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference|bibcode=2002AIPC..651....3G|doi =10.1063/1.1531270|series=AIP Conference Proceedings|conference =DENSE Z-PINCHES: 5th International Conference on Dense Z-Pinches. |date=2002|last1=Grabovskii|first1=E. V.|volume=651|pages=3–8|title=Fast Z - Pinch Study in Russia and Related Problems }}</ref>

Shock ignition was proposed to address problems with fast ignition.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Perkins|first1=L. J.|last2=Betti |first2=R. |last3=LaFortune |first3=K. N. |last4=Williams |first4=W. H. |date=2009 |title=Shock Ignition: A New Approach to High Gain Inertial Confinement Fusion on the National Ignition Facility |url=http://hifweb.lbl.gov/public/LLNL-LDRD-refs2009/Perkins-PRL09.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://hifweb.lbl.gov/public/LLNL-LDRD-refs2009/Perkins-PRL09.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=045004 |bibcode=2009PhRvL.103d5004P |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.045004 |pmid=19659364}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.hiper-laser.org/Resources/HiPER_Preparatory_Phase_Completion_Report.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.hiper-laser.org/Resources/HiPER_Preparatory_Phase_Completion_Report.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=HiPER Preparatory Phase Completion Report |author=HiPER Project Team |date=1 December 2013 |access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ribeyre |first1=X. |last2=Schurtz |first2=G. |last3=Lafon|first3=M.|last4=Galera|first4=S.|last5=Weber|first5=S.|date=2009|title=Shock ignition: an alternative scheme for HiPER |journal=Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion |language=en |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=015013 |bibcode=2009PPCF...51a5013R |doi=10.1088/0741-3335/51/1/015013 |s2cid=120858786 |issn=0741-3335}}</ref> Japan developed the KOYO-F design and laser inertial fusion test (LIFT) experimental reactor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Norimatsu|first1=Takayoshi|last2=Kozaki|first2=Yasuji|last3=Shiraga|first3=Hiroshi|last4=Fujita|first4=Hisanori|last5=Okano|first5=Kunihiko|last6=Azech|first6=Hiroshi|date=2013|title=Laser Fusion Experimental Reactor LIFT Based on Fast Ignition and the Issue|url=https://www.osapublishing.org/abstract.cfm?uri=CLEO_AT-2013-ATh4O.3|journal=CLEO: 2013 (2013), Paper ATh4O.3|language=EN|publisher=Optical Society of America|pages=ATh4O.3|doi=10.1364/CLEO_AT.2013.ATh4O.3|isbn=978-1-55752-972-5|s2cid=10285683}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Norimatsu|first1=T.|last2=Kawanaka|first2=J.|last3=Miyanaga|first3=M.|last4=Azechi|first4=H.|date=2007|title=Conceptual Design of Fast Ignition Power Plant KOYO-F Driven by Cooled Yb:YAG Ceramic Laser|url=http://www.ans.org/pubs/journals/fst/a_1606|journal=Fusion Science and Technology|volume=52|issue=4|pages=893–900|doi=10.13182/fst52-893|bibcode=2007FuST...52..893N |s2cid=117974702}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Norimatsu|first=T.|date=2006|others=US-Japan workshop on Power Plant Studies and related Advanced Technologies with EU participation (24-25 January 2006, San Diego, CA)|title=Fast ignition Laser Fusion Reactor KOYO-F - Summary from design committee of FI laser fusion reactor|url=http://www-ferp.ucsd.edu/LIB/MEETINGS/0601-USJ-PPS/Norimatsu.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www-ferp.ucsd.edu/LIB/MEETINGS/0601-USJ-PPS/Norimatsu.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2017, clean energy startup Apollo Fusion began to develop a hybrid fusion-fission reactor technology.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Stone|first=Brad|date=3 April 2017|title=Former Google Vice President Starts a Company Promising Clean and Safe Nuclear Energy|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-03/former-google-vice-president-starts-a-company-promising-clean-and-safe-nuclear-energy|access-date=2017-05-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Thompson|first=Avery|date=3 April 2017|title=Can a Googler's Fusion Startup Kickstart Nuclear Power?|language=en|work=Popular Mechanics|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a25922/apollo-fusion-startup-googler-nuclear-power/|access-date=2017-05-01}}</ref>

In Germany, technology company Marvel Fusion is working on [[:de:Trägheitsfusion#Lasergetriebene Proton-Bor-Fusion|laser-initiated inertial confinement fusion]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=A revolutionary solution for carbon-free energy |url=https://www.marvelfusion.io/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Marvel Fusion}}</ref> The startup adopted a short-pulsed high energy laser and the [[Aneutronic fusion|aneutronic]] fuel [[PB11 fusion|pB11]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The case for funding fusion |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/10/the-case-for-funding-fusion/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=TechCrunch|date=10 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wengenmayr|first=Roland|title=Alternative Kernfusion: Mit Superlasern und einem Quantentrick|language=de |work=FAZ.NET |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wissen/physik-mehr/start-up-aus-muenchen-will-ein-fusionskraftwerk-zum-laufen-bringen-17352358.html |access-date=2021-08-10|issn=0174-4909}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Marvel Fusion attracts Leading Scientific Talent to Munich |url=https://www.marvelfusion.io/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Marvel Fusion}}</ref> It was founded in Munich 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vecchiato |first=Alexandra |title=Erneuerbare Energien: Milliardenprojekt in Penzberg |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/wolfratshausen/penzberg-erneuerbare-energien-marvel-fusion-plaene-1.5096632 |access-date=2021-08-10|website=Süddeutsche.de|date=28 October 2020 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bär |first=Markus |title=Ein Münchner Start-up forscht mit Kernfusion am Feuer der Zukunft |url=https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/bayern/Forschung-Ein-Muenchner-Start-up-forscht-mit-Kernfusion-am-Feuer-der-Zukunft-id60060556.html |access-date=2021-08-10 |website=Augsburger Allgemeine|date=12 July 2021 |language=de}}</ref> It works with [[Siemens Energy AG|Siemens Energy]], [[Trumpf|TRUMPF]], and [[Thales Group|Thales]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-02-03 |title=European industrial giants join nuclear fusion race |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b13261a6-a44b-462a-8303-9aed1ac649a0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/b13261a6-a44b-462a-8303-9aed1ac649a0 |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-09-21}}</ref> The company partnered with [[Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich]] in July 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laserforschung: LMU und Marvel Fusion vereinbaren Kooperation zur Erforschung der laserbasierten Kernfusion |url=https://www.lmu.de/de/newsroom/newsuebersicht/news/laserforschung-lmu-und-marvel-fusion-vereinbaren-kooperation-zur-erforschung-der-laserbasierten-kernfusion.html |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=www.lmu.de |language=de}}</ref>

In March 2022, Australian company HB11 announced fusion using non-thermal laser pB11, at a higher than predicted rate of alpha particle creation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newatlas.com/energy/hb11-laser-fusion-demonstration/|title=HB11's hydrogen-boron laser fusion test yields groundbreaking results|date=29 March 2022 }}</ref> Other companies include NIF-like Longview Fusion and fast-ignition origned Focused Energy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Startups try to turn laser fusion success into clean power plants |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/startups-try-turn-laser-fusion-success-clean-power-plants |access-date=2023-02-17 |website=www.science.org |language=en}}</ref>