World's largest privately owned laser system activated
Original: The world’s largest privately owned laser just turned on
Why This Matters
Represents significant progress toward commercial fusion power generation
Fusion startup Xcimer Energy activated its Phoenix laser system, the world's largest privately owned laser. The krypton-fluoride laser generates over 1 kilojoule with a 38-meter core, modeling after NIF's fusion approach.
Xcimer Energy's Phoenix laser system uses excimer amplification similar to semiconductor manufacturing but significantly more powerful. The company aims to commercialize fusion power by using more powerful, less complex lasers than the National Ignition Facility's 192-beam system. Phoenix generates over 1 kilojoule of energy through microsecond pulses compressed into nanoseconds for fuel compression. While impressive, this represents a fraction of the 12+ megajoules needed for commercial power plants. Xcimer plans a prototype by 2028, followed by a break-even system, with commercial plants targeted for the mid-2030s.