The U.S. has several public and private scientific facilities dedicated to nuclear fusion research. Some of the most important include the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, the Fusion and Plasma Science Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. However, a new facility is set to join the list.
Colorado State University (CSU) is building the Advanced Technology Lasers for Applications and Science (ATLAS) Facility on its Foothills campus. This facility will house multiple high-intensity, high-frequency lasers that can be fired simultaneously at a single target.
According to university officials, the ATLAS lasers will deliver nearly seven petawatts of power to a single point in space, where the fuel for the fusion reaction will be located. The precision is remarkable: The lasers will converge at a point the width of a human hair for about 100 quadrillionths of a second. The goal is to advance nuclear fusion research and basic science.
The facility, which will be operational in mid-2026, is the culmination of 40 years of laser development research at CSU in collaboration with the Department of Energy and a $150 million strategic public-private partnership with industry leader Marvel Fusion, which began in 2023.
U.S. Continues Its Pursuit of Inertial Confinement Fusion
The presence of high-power lasers at ATLAS means that fusion experiments conducted by CSU researchers will utilize inertial confinement fusion (ICF) rather than the magnetic confinement fusion used in the JET, JT-60SA, or ITER experimental reactors. In ICF, the fuel, consisting of deuterium and tritium nuclei, is encapsulated in a microball and placed inside a high-energy laser chamber.
“Fusion energy has the potential to revolutionize the approach to sustainable power, providing a virtually limitless, clean energy source.”
The purpose of this is to concentrate all the energy simultaneously and abruptly into the capsule’s contents, causing the fuel to be suddenly heated, condensed, and compressed, which results in the fusion of the deuterium and tritium nuclei. However, magnetic confinement fusion is currently more feasible for producing electricity.
ATLAS officials say their goal is to conduct experiments that will contribute to the development of fusion energy and other disciplines that can also benefit from high-power laser technology, such as medicine. According to a CSU press release, Heike Freund, chief operating officer of Marvel Fusion, said, “Fusion energy has the potential to revolutionize the approach to sustainable power, providing a virtually limitless, clean energy source. This collaboration sets CSU and Marvel Fusion at the forefront of cutting-edge research, paving the way for transformative advancements that could redefine global energy solutions.”
The arrival of a new research lab is promising news, especially if it’s dedicated to basic science rather than advanced weapons development.
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