In the News

In the News — 2025

March 25, 2025
“Bill Gates-backed Commonwealth Fusion Systems hits key reactor construction milestone
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) marked a major milestone Tuesday morning, announcing the installation of a key component of its SPARC demonstration reactor. (TechCrunch)

March 25, 2025
“Focused Energy and RWE to build 1GW fusion pilot plant in Germany
US-German startup Focused Energy has signed an agreement with RWE and the German state of Hesse to build a 1GW fusion energy pilot plant at the former Biblis nuclear plant site by 2035, as reported by Reuters. (Power Technology)

March 24, 2025
“Three times the size of the Pentagon” – This giant fusion research center rising in China is rewriting the rules of energy
Recent satellite imagery has revealed that China is constructing an enormous laser fusion research facility in Mianyang, potentially rivaling California's National Ignition Facility and raising significant questions about the future of global nuclear research and security. (Sustainability Times)

March 24, 2025
Fusion energy startup Focused signs agreement with RWE, German state
U.S.-German startup Focused Energy, which aims to build power plants fueled by fusion, said on Monday it has signed an agreement with RWE and the German state of Hesse on building a plant at a shuttered nuclear fission site. (Reuters)

March 20, 2025
HB11 Energy partners with University of Adelaide on Australian-first $8.2M national laser facility, out of Adelaide
Laser fusion energy company HB11 Energy has signed an $8.2 million agreement with Defence Trailblazer to commercialise the world’s first-of-a-kind laser developed by the DualTech-USPL research group at the University of Adelaide. (Eco Voice)

March 19, 2025
Gridlock in Energy Transition, Transmission Bottlenecks
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that 1,600 GW of renewable energy projects—equivalent to five times the current U.S. power grid’s capacity—are stranded in connection queues globally. (Energy News)

March 18, 2025
B.C. company plans to ignite fusion within three years
Under the din of an industrial alarm, dozens of engineers stare at their screens, braced for the unexpected.“Ready to fire!” shouts the lead operator. “Firing!” (Castanet)

March 16, 2025
Fusion energy: Unlocking the power of the stars
If it looks like the set of some Hollywood sci-fi show, perhaps that's fitting, because what they are doing here is making stars on Earth. (CBS Sunday Morning)

March 16, 2025
How the U.S. is losing ground to China in nuclear fusion, as AI power needs surge
China and the U.S. are in a race to create the first grid-scale nuclear fusion energy. After decades of U.S. leadership, China is catching up by spending twice as much and building projects at record speed. (CNBC)

March 13, 2025
Nuclear Fusion Race Intensifies With Chinese Breakthrough
China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak achieved a sustained temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius, marking a significant milestone in nuclear fusion research. (OilPrice.com)

March 11, 2025
General Fusion fires up its newest steampunk fusion reactor
General Fusion announced on Tuesday that it had successfully created plasma, a superheated fourth state of matter required for fusion, inside a prototype reactor. (TechCrunch)

March 10, 2025
Fusion energy: The holy grail of clean power
A net energy gain was notably demonstrated in December 2022 at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a laser-based inertial confinement fusion research lab located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. (The Daily Star)

March 6, 2025
Understanding DOE’s Role in Nuclear Security and Energy Management
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a prime example of the DOE’s commitment to cutting-edge research. The NIF performs key experiments that help scientists understand nuclear fusion and ensure the effectiveness of nuclear weapons. (Microgrid Media)

March 5, 2025
Lessons for U.S. Intelligence from the ‘DeepSeek Surprise’
AI is far from the only consequential technology that is shaping the competition between the United States and China. Within just the past month, satellite imagery analysis revealed that China is building a laser fusion research facility larger than our own National Ignition Facility (NIF). (The Cipher Brief)

March 3, 2025
What Is Nuclear Energy? Is It Renewable?
No one has a workable plan for bringing fusion to commercial viability, because even the record-smashing National Ignition Facility barely knows how to make fusion energy-positive in the first place. (Extreme Tech)

February 28, 2025
AI & Data Exchange 2025: Lawrence Livermore’s Brian Spears, Judy Hill on achieving unprecedented AI advancements
LLNL has a broad science mission. It stewards the nation’s nuclear stockpile and supports a wide range of national security objectives, including intelligence support, medical research and drug development, and basic fundamental science. It is also known for being the fusion laboratory — in 2022, LLNL made history by demonstrating fusion ignition in a lab setting. (Federal News Network)

February 27, 2025
The Energy Department invests more in fusion energy
The Energy Department, via the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is boosting research into fusion energy. (Federal News Network)

February 26, 2025
Startups gamble on fusion energy
And in 2022, scientists at one key fusion lab, located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, reached a fusion-energy milestone when they were able to produce a self-sustaining reaction with a net-positive amount of energy — a threshold called ignition. (Canada's National Observer)

February 25, 2025
Unlocking the power of fusion: SLAC’s pioneering role in advanced energy solutions
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is leading groundbreaking advancements in fusion research through innovative technologies, aiming to tackle the challenges of harnessing fusion as a viable energy source. (Innovation News Network)

February 21, 2025
French fusion reactor’s 22-minute plasma record boosts energy hopes
Scientists at the CEA’s WEST facility (operated at the Cadarache center in southern France) have reached a milestone in magnetic confinement fusion research, sustaining a superheated plasma for 1,337 seconds—just over 22 minutes. (R&D World)

February 20, 2025
EUV’s Future Looks Even Brighter
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are exploring alternative laser-driven plasma sources that could significantly improve EUV power efficiency. (Semiconductor Engineering)

February 18, 2025
Behind China’s ‘secret’ laser facility
Recently a flood of articles appeared in the press showing a US satellite photo of what was described as a huge laser facility under construction in southwestern China. (Asia Times)

February 14, 2025
The future of lasers is controllably bright
John Heebner of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory discusses ongoing projects at the National Ignition Facility. (SPIE)

February 13, 2025
Lab and Startup Company Team Up on Fusion Materials
Commercial fusion technology — what the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says could deliver “a supply of safe, clean and relatively limitless energy” — took another step forward last week with the announcement of a new joint project between the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and fusion startup Focused Energy. (The Independent)

February 13, 2025
Photonics’ “Semiconductorization” Stands Out Among Trends at Photonics West 2025
Once again, Photonics West was thriving, with the exhibit halls and floors of the conference center humming with intense conversations about the latest advances in all areas of photonics technology. I will discuss a few trends I found particularly noteworthy. (Photonics Spectra)

February 12, 2025
Ensuring Innovation In A Rapidly Changing World: Stay With Problems Longer
The hot pursuit of nuclear fusion as an energy source, for example, has been going on for several decades, since the construction of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory began in 1997. (Forbes)

February 12, 2025
Satellite images reveal large fusion facility in China
Currently the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory if world leader in INF. (Nuclear Engineering International)

February 8, 2025
Satellite Images Show China Building What Appears to Be a Huge Fusion Facility
In a move straight out of a Bond film, China seems to be building a massive laser-fired nuclear facility in Mianyang, a major science and research city in Sichuan province. (Futurism)

February 7, 2025
China’s Massive Nuclear Fusion Facility In Sichuan Province Gets Caught In Satellite Imagery
This experiment mirrors the layout of the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Northern California, which in 2022 achieved a breakthrough by producing more energy from fusion than the lasers pumped into the target, reaching “scientific breakeven.” (The EurAsian Times)

February 6, 2025
Virginia joins the nuclear fusion race as region shifts to clean energy
The core of our Sun is a nuclear inferno so unfathomably dense that it strips atoms of their electrons and forms new atoms. And, in an attempt to meet its clean energy goals, Virginia hopes to wield this energy on Earth. (Chesapeake Bay Journal)

February 6, 2025
China is building giant nuclear facility to master clean energy
Eveleth estimates China's Mianyang research center will be about 50% bigger than the US's National Ignition Facility (NIF) and, when completed, probably the largest facility of its kind in the world. (NewsBytes)

February 5, 2025
China is building a giant laser facility to master near-limitless clean energy, satellite images appear to show
The X-shaped building in southwestern China could help China pull ahead in the race to master a futuristic clean energy source and amp up weapons research. (CNN)

February 5, 2025
Focused Energy, Livermore Lab Join in Support of Fusion Research
Focused Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop a model simulating the behavior of low-density foams wetted with liquid deuterium and tritium during implosion. (POWER Magazine)

February 4, 2025
China Is Secretly Building the World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion Laser, According to a U.S. Spy Satellite
Recently spotted via American spy satellites, this structure is estimated to be 50% larger than the United States’ National Ignition Facility (NIF)—currently the most advanced laser fusion lab in the world. (Indian Defence Review)

February 4, 2025
China’s Massive Laser Fusion Facility: A Game Changer for Energy or Arms?
China’s new laser fusion facility in Mianyang significantly outsizes the U.S. National Ignition Facility. (Oinegro Skynet Chronicles)

February 1, 2025
'The Whole Crew Had Me': Benedict Cumberbatch Recalls Getting Pranked by Star Trek Into Darkness Team
Speaking to Variety, Cumberbatch discussed his experience on the set of the 2013 film, recalling a day of shooting at the National Ignition Facility, where tests regarding nuclear fusion are carried out. (Comic Book Resources)

February 1, 2025
Explaining nuclear fusion
In 2022, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility in California, 192 lasers focused on a peppercorn-sized pellet of deuterium-tritium and in the 5.4-million-degree Fahrenheit heat, converted the pellet into burning plasma in a reaction that lasted billionths of a second. (Post Register)

January 31, 2025
Lawrence Livermore says OpenAI partnership could help with fusion research
The San Francisco AI company will supply its models to national labs for various purposes including fusion and nuclear deterrence. (San Francisco Business Times)

January 29, 2025
Satellite Picture Shows China's Huge Nuclear Weapons Research Center
The revelation of the new Chinese nuclear facility, in the city of Mianyang in the southwestern province of Sichuan, was reported by Reuters on Tuesday. It has a similar design to the U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, the report said. (Newsweek)

January 29, 2025
China building massive nuclear fusion research centre, reveal satellite images
China is constructing a large-scale laser-ignited nuclear fusion research facility in the southwestern city of Mianyang, which experts said Bejing will utilise to enhance both nuclear weapons design capabilities and research into advanced power generation methods. (The Times of India)

January 28, 2025
Exclusive: Images show China building huge fusion research facility, analysts say
China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research centre in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organisations say, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. (Reuters)

January 28, 2025
China's new tech rip-off: Satellite images show huge new fusion research plant (...remarkably similar to US facility) sparking nuke testing fears
The design bears striking similarities to the £2.8billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, which made headlines last year for achieving a breakthrough in nuclear fusion. (Daily Mail)

January 28, 2025
China ‘building laser-ignited fusion research centre’ in challenge to US
Experts warn site could be used to advance both power generation and nuclear weapons. (The Telegraph)

January 28, 2025
Satellite images reveal huge fusion research facility in China
The facility's design resembles the layout of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the United States, which, in 2022, achieved "scientific breakeven" by generating more energy from a fusion reaction than was delivered by the lasers. (RBC-Ukraine)'

January 28, 2025
China building huge fusion research facility
The design closely resembles that of the $3.5 billion National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Northern California, which achieved "scientific breakeven" in 2022 by generating more energy from a fusion reaction than the lasers pumped into the target. (Caliber)

January 28, 2025
China's Ambitious Leap in Laser Fusion Technology
Satellite imagery reveals a layout similar to the U.S. National Ignition Facility, with implications for both nuclear policy and innovation in energy development. (Devdiscourse)

January 27, 2025
Benedict Cumberbatch Recalls The Elaborate Prank On Him During The Filming Of Star Trek Into Darkness
During a recent interview with Variety in which guests attempt to guess lines from their own movies and TV shows, Cumberbatch identifies a Khan line from Star Trek Into Darkness. This leads to a story about his experiences filming within the National Ignition Facility for the movie, and the elaborate prank that the crew of the movie pulled on him involving "neutron cream." (ScreenRant)

January 21, 2025
New Metal Foams Enable World’s Brightest X-Ray Source
By combining the National Ignition Facility (NIF)’s X-ray laser and ultralight metal foams, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have produced the brightest X-ray source to date — about twice as bright as previous solid metal versions. (Photonics Spectra)

January 21, 2025
China's 'artificial sun' shatters nuclear fusion record by generating steady loop of plasma for 1,000 seconds
A nuclear fusion reactor in China, dubbed the "artificial sun," has broken its own record to bring humanity one step closer to near-limitless clean energy. (Live Science)

January 19, 2025
US lab creates world’s brightest X-ray source with 2x intensity for fusion research
This milestone was reached by combining the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser with ultra-light metal foams. (Interesting Engineering)

January 18, 2025
Private Sector Advances Nuclear Fusion With AI – New Plant To Open Soon
An MIT-connected project is changing how we view energy production. It should have been bigger news. When the National Ignition Facility conducted a successful fusion experiment, we got a front-row seat to what could happen if this technology is ever perfected. (Forbes)

January 15, 2025
Frothy silver foam and fusion-grade lasers create world's brightest X-ray
A frothy breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), using lasers with a silver metal foam that's as light as air, has created the brightest yet X-ray source ever, twice as brilliant as that of anything previous. (New Atlas)

January 14, 2025
Fusion Research Receives $49 Million Boost
The U.S. Department of Energy is funding 19 projects that target foundational fusion materials, nuclear science, magnet technology, blankets, fuel cycles, and first wall research. (ASME News)

January 13, 2025
The world’s fastest supercomputer is accelerating efforts to bring star power to Earth
It makes sense that a technical achievement straight out of science fiction took place in a facility so futuristic that it was once used as a backdrop in a Star Trek movie. (Cipher)

January 13, 2025
Reflecting on mirrors
Then there are lasers, which rely on mirrors for building up and manipulating a focused beam of light. In December 2022, the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California used a complicated series of lasers and mirrors to achieve the first net-gain fusion reaction. (Classic City News)

January 13, 2025
Fusion energy Canada’s opportunity to lead in the clean energy revolution
Recent breakthroughs have brought this vision closer to reality, yet significant challenges remain before fusion becomes a practical part of our energy systems. (Troy Media)

January 10, 2025
Fusion-grade steel able to withstand 650°C produced at industrial scale for first time in UK
A UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) working group was able to successfully demonstrate the industrial scale production of steel that can be used in fusion reactors by withstanding temperatures up to 650°C. (New Civil Engeneer)

January 8, 2025
Nuclear fusion could one day be a viable clean energy source – but big engineering challenges stand in the way
The way scientists think about fusion changed forever in 2022, when what some called the experiment of the century demonstrated for the first time that fusion can be a viable source of clean energy. (The Conversation)

January 7, 2025
Is the world ready for the transformational power of fusion?
Imagine: One day in the early 2030s, an engineer at a newly constructed power plant near Richmond, Virginia, in the United States, will press a button. It will ignite the same reaction that takes place in our sun’s core. (World Economic Forum)

January 7, 2025
US next-gen BAT laser system aims for a 10x efficiency boost for EUV chip production
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is developing a petawatt-class laser system that could significantly boost the efficiency of EUV lithography equipment used in chip manufacturing. (Notebook Check)

January 6, 2025
The race to achieve net energy gain
The world is now on the last leg of the decades-long race to achieve net energy gain from nuclear fusion. Will competition or collaboration be the key to reaching the finish line? (Innovation News Network)

January 6, 2025
Researchers Unlock Fusion Mysteries with Novel Plasma Modeling, Propelling Nuclear Fusion Closer to Reality
Harnessing controlled nuclear fusion as a potential source of clean energy has seen several significant advancements in recent years, and the recent research by a Chinese team, funded by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in Science Bulletin last month, signals the next wave of insights with what the team calls a “surprising observation” involving supra-thermal ions during observations of fusion burning plasmas at National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. (The Debrief)

January 6, 2025
Why fusion energy is the future of clean power
Imagine a world where energy is limitless, clean, and safe—a world without pollution from burning fossil fuels or dangerous nuclear waste. This dream is at the heart of fusion energy research. (Knowridge)

January 5, 2025
American lab is developing a BAT laser that could enable 'beyond EUV' lithography, provide 10X power efficiency boost
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is working on a petawatt-class thulium laser that is said to be 10 times more efficient than the CO2 lasers used in EUV tools and could replace CO2 lasers in lithography systems many years down the road. (Tom's Hardware)

January 5, 2025
Nuclear fusion offers safe and clean energy, but experts say enviros will still oppose it
In 2022, the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, became the only facility to achieve what’s called “net fusion energy,” which is a fusion reaction producing more energy than the reaction required. (Just the News)

January 3, 2025
LLNL to Lead Research on Advancing Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
Now Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has announced it will lead a four-year, $12 million research partnership charged with laying the groundwork for the next evolution of EUV lithography. (inside HPC)

January 3, 2025
Germany’s IFE Targetry HUB pioneers laser-based inertial fusion
This milestone comes amid growing international interest in nuclear fusion, fuelled by the landmark achievements of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which successfully demonstrated fusion’s viability as an energy source. (Innovation News Network)

January 3, 2025
Brighter X Rays from Ultralight Silver Material
Shooting a laser pulse at a porous silver target generates more intense x rays than previous targets, which will help studies of matter in extreme conditions. (American Physical Society)

January 3, 2025
Fusion Mystery Unraveled: How Burning Plasmas Defy Conventional Physics
Advances in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) have brought nuclear fusion energy closer to reality. A breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility in 2021 revealed unexpected plasma phenomena, challenging existing models. (SciTechDaily)

January 2, 2025
John H. Nuckolls Receives Enrico Fermi Presidential Award
The Biden-Harris Administration has recognized former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) director John H. Nuckolls with the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government. (The Independent)

January 2, 2025
2025 will be the year climate tech learns to love AI
We’re just over two years out from the National Ignition Facility’s groundbreaking announcement that it had produced the world’s first controlled, net-positive fusion reaction. (TechCrunch)

January 2, 2025
Focused Energy and Amplitude ink laser fusion deal
"This is a landmark moment on our path to commercial laser fusion, building off the National Ignition Facility’s groundbreaking work two years ago." (Nuclear Engineering International)

January 1, 2025
Mystery of supra-thermal ions in fusion plasmas solved by advanced collision models
The pursuit of nuclear fusion as a clean and abundant energy source has made significant strides with the advent of inertial confinement fusion (ICF). (Space Daily)