Exclusive: Laser-driven energy startup moving to Bay Area
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, where researchers first used laser fusion technology to achieve a net energy gain. Focused Energy will be building on their work in their new lab. Photo: Joe McNally via Getty Images
A startup developing laser fusion as a clean energy alternative is relocating its U.S. headquarters from Austin, Texas, to the Bay Area, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The move reflects our region's growing reputation as a hub for this kind of research. Focused Energy's new lab will house some of the world's most advanced lasers in a bid to achieve commercial fusion.
How it works: Laser fusion, often called the "holy grail" of energy, involves using powerful lasers to combine two small atoms, typically hydrogen, into a heavier nucleus.
- This fusion process, which powers the sun and other stars, releases some of the hydrogen's mass as energy without producing the kinds of long-lived radioactive byproducts of fission seen in nuclear power stations.
- While the reality of harnessing this energy is still decades off — Scientific American notes it's unlikely before 2050 — recent advancements have led to more attention.
Driving the news: Focused Energy, a German American company spun off from the Technical University of Darmstadt, plans to use its new $65 million facility to improve the high-powered lasers and fuel targets needed to deliver fusion energy at a commercial scale.
- "The idea of powering something like San Francisco with three coke cans of what is effectively seawater and a small amount of lithium is quite a powerful change to our energy story," CEO Scott Mercer told Axios.
- The startup has amassed $175 million from both private and public funders, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation.
State of play: Focused Energy will build off research produced by scientists at the East Bay-based National Ignition Facility (NIF), which in 2022 fired lasers at a single pellet of hydrogen to successfully achieve a net energy gain for the first time.
- Three of the four people on that team are now working at Focused Energy, according to Mercer.
- The kind of technology they're looking to create would have the capacity to power major infrastructure, such as those in cities, he added.
What they're saying: "It's a big thing to chase, but even in the early days, the industrial ecosystems that that can create" are going to be in the Bay, Mercer noted.
Reality check: A key obstacle is the need for materials that can for decades withstand fusion conditions such as extreme heat and neutron damage, the Government Accountability Office wrote in a 2023 report.
- It's especially important when developing a supply chain that ensures safety and reliable sourcing, according to Arianna Gleason, deputy director of the SLAC National Accelerator Lab's High-Energy Density Science division.
- Other policy experts have also highlighted regulatory concerns and potential radiological hazards.
The big picture: Since the NIF made its breakthrough, the Bay Area has shot into the national spotlight as a center for innovation in fusion.
- Experiments conducted in the region have kicked off a lot of interest, Mercer noted — a development that landed on the radar of the Biden administration and led to multiple million-dollar investments.
- "The goal is to actually develop these direct connections between academia, national labs and private industry to make sure that different concepts are on the right track and that the timeline can be accelerated for technology delivery," Gleason told Axios.
What we're watching: President Biden has set a goal to demonstrate proof of concept for fusion power plants by the next decade as part of an effort to achieve clean energy.
- Focused Energy is aiming to have the facility up and running in late 2026.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to show Focused Energy has raised $175 million from funders.