January 17, 2023
Focused Energy is pursuing a laser-driven inertial fusion energy (IFE) scheme for commercial fusion based on proton fast ignition (PFI), an advanced inertial confinement fusion scheme. Proton fast ignition has the potential to reach the high target gains needed for IFE in a robustly performing platform. A key scientific risk in laser driven fusion is the potential for laser-plasma instabilities (LPI), which can reduce energy coupling efficiency and drive uniformity.
In this INFUSE project Focused Energy will partner with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to apply state-of-the-art simulation tools developed at LANL, and high-performance computing resources, to evaluate the LPI physics risks for fast ignition target designs and assess mitigation techniques.