Fusion startups developing technology for commercial power are increasingly finding additional applications in national security, giving companies another potential source of funding while they work toward putting electricity on the grid. Recent agreements involving Xcimer Energy and Pacific Fusion show how high-powered lasers and experimental fusion facilities can serve both energy and defense research.
The connection is not new. Modern fusion research grew partly from work on thermonuclear weapons, while the U.S. National Ignition Facility, which achieved fusion ignition in 2022, has supported national security research for more than 25 years.
Xcimer Partners With RTX on Directed Energy
Denver-based Xcimer Energy is developing large laser systems to compress fusion fuel until its atoms fuse and release energy. Its Phoenix prototype, which the company calls the world’s largest privately owned laser system, currently operates at around an order of magnitude below the power required for its planned commercial reactor.
That technology has also attracted the defense industry. In September, Xcimer announced a partnership and investment from RTX, whose businesses include defense contractor Raytheon, to examine how its pulsed lasers could be incorporated into directed-energy systems.
Laser weapons have gained attention as militaries seek lower-cost ways to counter drones and other airborne threats. Unlike conventional missiles, which are expended after one launch, laser systems can fire repeatedly using electricity supplied by generators, engines or other onboard power sources.
For Xcimer, the engineering requirements overlap with its fusion work. Both applications require powerful lasers that can fire repeatedly, operate reliably and eventually be manufactured at scale.
Pacific Fusion Builds Facility With National Security Uses
Pacific Fusion is following a different technical approach but has also incorporated national security work into its plans. The company recently began construction of a demonstration facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, designed to produce more fusion energy than the total energy initially stored in the machine.
The company also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Nuclear Security Administration covering high-yield fusion and high-energy-density research. Pacific Fusion says the facility will produce fusion bursts above 100 megajoules, allowing experiments relevant to maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile without explosive nuclear testing.
Co-founder and CTO Keith LeChien previously worked at Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the NNSA. Co-founder Carrie von Muench said defense applications had been considered from the company’s early development.
The additional work comes as climate-tech venture funding has slowed while fusion remains expensive to develop. Defense partnerships give participating startups another source of capital and customers while the same companies continue pursuing commercial fusion power.
Featured image credits: xcimer energy
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