New collaboration will develop the rapid heating stage of FLARE, advancing First Light’s progress towards low cost, high gain inertial fusion
- Combines First Light’s low cost fusion concept with CLF’s world leading high power laser and fast ignition expertise
- Follows validation of FLARE’s multi-shell compression architecture on First Light’s M3 facility
- Accelerates next phase of FLARE development
First Light Fusion and STFC’s Central Laser Facility (CLF) have launched a collaboration to advance the fast ignition physics at the heart of First Light’s FLARE approach to low cost, high gain inertial fusion. First Light’s FLARE concept separates the two fundamental steps required for fusion: compressing the deuterium-tritium fuel to high density; and then igniting it.
The partnership aims to accelerate the second step, harnessing CLF’s world leading expertise in short-pulsed laser technology to rapidly heat the compressed fuel. It shows how UK national laboratories and private fusion companies can combine capabilities to accelerate innovation and strengthen high power laser and high energy density physics expertise in the pursuit of commercial fusion energy.
From compression to ignition
First Light and CLF will investigate how a short, intense laser pulse can most effectively deliver energy into the compressed fuel. CLF scientists will model the generation and transport of energetic electrons produced by the laser and how efficiently their energy can be deposited into dense fusion fuel.
The programme will explore approaches including engineered target structures and magnetic fields designed to guide energetic electrons into the ignition region, with the aim of further reducing the laser energy required already found in FLARE’s target concept.
Dr Jonathan Skidmore, Chief Scientist, First Light Fusion, said: “We have validated the first half of the FLARE concept using the target itself to create the pressure history needed to assemble fuel at high density, with a relatively simple pulsed power driver. The next phase is to rapidly heat that dense fuel. The CLF has world leading expertise in laser and plasma physics to accelerate this step. Bringing these two phases together gives us a clear route towards integrated FLARE experiments.”
Designing fast ignition for a practical fusion system
Fast ignition has been studied internationally for several decades as a way of separating fuel compression from the energy required to initiate fusion burn. For FLARE, the opportunity is to design the compression system, ignition system and target together from the outset. The cylindrical FLARE geometry provides clean direct access to a large area of compressed fuel in comparison to standard laser Fast Ignition approaches, significantly opening up design parameters.
Rather than optimising laser performance in isolation, First Light and CLF will assess the physics alongside the efficiency, cost, engineering and scalability requirements of an eventual fusion system. A central objective is to minimise the energy required to initiate burn while maintaining the high fusion gain needed for a practical power plant. High gain reduces the required repetition rate and places less demanding requirements on the driver, chamber and fuel delivery systems. It is central to First Light’s approach to inertial fusion energy, delivering a lower cost route to commercial fusion power.
Combining UK capabilities
Based at STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, CLF is a world-leading laser facility with expertise in high power lasers, plasma modelling, target fabrication, diagnostics and engineering, as well as extensive experience in fast ignition and energetic electron transport.
First Light brings its proprietary FLARE concept, derived from 15 years of development in inertial fusion energy including pulsed power technology, target design, machine learning and simulation capability.
The collaboration is already underway. Over the next year, the aim is to help define the laser requirements for ignition through modelling and, in the future, a potential high gain demonstrator.
Applying CLF’s foundational laser-plasma research to First Light’s FLARE creates a powerful pathway for the UK to lead the global development of low cost, high gain inertial fusion.
Professor John Collier, Director, STFC Central Laser Facility, said: “This collaboration applies CLF’s fast ignition modelling and experimental expertise to a clearly defined system challenge. By working together, we can identify the most robust approaches and target the experiments that will deliver the greatest value.”