LLNL experts help advance inertial fusion energy at U.S. IFE conference

Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) joined their counterparts from national laboratories, universities, industry and government in a conference last month to discuss the progress, challenges and priorities for moving toward an inertial fusion energy (IFE) future in the United States.

The U.S. IFE conference brought together the growing IFE community to share updates in target design, laser and optics technology, modeling, materials, power plant concepts and workforce development. The conference, called IFE-STAR in prior years, introduced its new name on the first day to signal its unified mission to accelerate IFE development as a cornerstone of the nation’s energy strategy.

"U.S. IFE is building an ecosystem that brings together universities, national labs and the private sector to advance fundamental science and technologies for inertial fusion energy,” said Kramer Akli, program manager at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program. FES led the conception and organization of the conference in close partnership with LLNL, the University of Rochester and Colorado State University.

The Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology (LIFT), LLNL’s institutional effort to help make fusion energy deployment a reality, helped organize the meeting and played a prominent role throughout the workshop, held March 23 to 27 in Rockville, Maryland. Presentations spanned implosion physics, target fabrication, machine learning, power plant technologies, user facilities and national ecosystem-building efforts.

LLNL’s unique position in the field is anchored by its National Ignition Facility (NIF), the only facility to achieve fusion ignition and scientific energy gain.

“U.S. IFE highlighted the strong momentum behind inertial fusion energy and the value of bringing together partners from across the national ecosystem,” said LIFT Director Tammy Ma. “Progress in this field will depend on sustained collaboration across science, technology and workforce development.”

Jean Paul Allain, director of the DOE's new Office of Fusion, set the stage for the conference by describing the department’s Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap as a national strategy for accelerating fusion commercialization. “Our destination is to deliver fusion power to the world,” Allain said during his opening plenary address.

Among the LLNL presentations, physicist Daniel Casey discussed the physical mechanisms that degrade target implosions and the path toward IFE-relevant target performance.

Scientist G. Elijah Kemp delivered a presentation about the first demonstration of an additively manufactured, wetted-foam direct-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target on NIF, highlighting progress in manufacturing approaches that could support future IFE systems.

Other LLNL talks focused on enabling technologies for fusion energy systems. Physicist Alexander Yang spoke about a machine-learning surrogate model for rapid tritium breeding ratio prediction in ceramic breeder blankets.

LLNL’s Brian Spears, who serves as technical lead for the DOE’s Genesis Mission, discussed the role of artificial intelligence in accelerating fusion energy development. “IFE is the perfect example of what we need to do with AI,” Spears said.

LLNL researchers also highlighted key engineering and economic challenges that need to be solved to build fusion power plants in the future. Mackenzie Nelson, LIFT’s techno-economic systems analyst, presented work on behalf of colleagues William Fenwick and Bob Deri that examined laser diode costs and lifetime requirements for IFE systems.

The Lab’s role in building the national fusion ecosystem was also featured in a presentation by research scientist Clément Goyon on progress made by the LLNL-led STARFIRE Hub. One of three DOE-supported IFE hubs, STARFIRE is organized around five thrusts: high-gain target designs, advanced lasers and optics, target manufacturing and industry engagement, power plant design and assessment, and workforce development and stewardship of the IFE ecosystem.

LIFT senior advisor John Edwards also presented a talk on modeling and simulation capabilities to advance fusion energy, discussing how national labs are working to help the fusion industry grow by accessing their simulation capabilities, data and subject matter experts.

On the conference’s final day, Félicie Albert, director of LLNL’s Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF), highlighted new capabilities and user opportunities at the facility. JLF supports research in high-energy-density science, fusion energy and laser science, and provides an important platform for addressing technical questions relevant to IFE. JLF is also a founding member of LaserNetUS, a network of high-power, high-intensity laser facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

Target fabrication also emerged as a recurring theme. LLNL research scientist Xiaoxing Xia delivered a talk about scalable additive manufacturing of wetted-foam targets for IFE, underscoring one of the field’s central engineering challenges: producing high-quality targets at the scale required for a future power plant.

The conference’s poster sessions also reflected the breadth of the Laboratory’s broad contributions to IFE science and technology.

Throughout the week, speakers emphasized that IFE progress depends on strong coordination among national laboratories, academia, private industry and federal sponsors.

“Thanks to decades of investment in national security capabilities, the U.S. has a commanding lead in the fusion race and remains the only nation to achieve scientific breakeven,” Ma said. “U.S. IFE provides a forum for our best ideas to come together and help build on this strategic advantage to become the first to put fusion on the grid.”

—Thomas Lynch