New Report Finds Diagnostic Innovation Critical for Fusion Energy Commercialization

A new report produced as part of the Department of Energy (DOE)’s 2024 Basic Research Needs Workshop on Measurement Innovation finds that diagnostic innovation will be key to converting plasma science into commercial fusion power. It was sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Science’s Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program.

“This turns a broad workshop conversation into something the whole fusion community can use: a clear, shared guide to the biggest measurement gaps, most important opportunities and common challenges ahead,” said Dave Schlossberg, who led one of the working groups. “It gives researchers, industry and funders a common reference point for what to build, test, and support next.”

Diagnostic instruments, which include specialized sensors to measure density, temperature, neutrons and other properties, are essential to monitoring plasma fuel conditions in experiments and eventually in fusion power plants. Diagnostics are critical to the repeated achievements of ignition on LLNL’s National Ignition Facility. With experiments over a million times faster than the blink of an eye and taking place inside the sealed Target Chamber, diagnostic data gives researchers “eyes” on their experiments.

According to the report, “Achieving a Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP) in the U.S. in the 2030s to 2040s now depends on the ability to measure, understand, control, and optimize plasmas, materials, and fuel-cycle systems under extreme conditions. These same capabilities underpin a broader plasma-technology ecosystem critical to U.S. economic leadership.”

The report summarizes the findings of 70 researchers from academia, private industry and national laboratories. Recommendations include using artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate diagnostic design, establishing a national diagnostic network modeled after LaserNetUS, standardizing diagnostic calibrations and investing in a workforce pipeline

LLNL researchers made significant contributions to the report:

• Schlossberg chaired the Inertial Confinement Fusion – Burning Plasma working group with Justin Jeet as a member.
• Vlad Soukhanovskii chaired the Magnetic Confinement Fuson – Burning Plasma working group with Adam McLean as a member.
• Laura Robin Benedetti (formerly LLNL) co-chaired the High Energy Density Plasma working group, with Yuan Ping and George Swadling as members.
• Derek Mariscal was a member of the Inertial Fusion Energy – Fusion Pilot Plant working group.

The full report is available online, along with an executive summary.

The measurement innovation workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in January 2024. In 2025, LLNL established the Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology (LIFT) to connect the Lab’s world-class scientific and engineering capabilities with industry to make fusion energy deployment a reality. One of LIFT’s main research areas is developing diagnostic tools that can withstand the extreme environment of a fusion power plant.

More Information:

Diagnostics

"NIF and JLF User Groups Celebrate Milestones and New Capabilities," NIF & Photon Science News, March 12, 2026

“When Lasers Cross: LLNL Finds a Brighter Way to Measure Plasma,” NIF & Photon Science News, January 29, 2026

“TARDIS Experiments Boost NIF Discovery Science and Stockpile Stewardship,” NIF & Photon Science News, August 13, 2025

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