Fusion Startups Are Finding Fresh Momentum in Defense Partnerships

Fusion startups are still pursuing the long-term goal of putting electrons on the grid, but TechCrunch reports that many are also embracing defense applications tied to the technology’s origins. The sector traces back to Cold War-era science behind thermonuclear weapons, and the national security connection never fully disappeared. A major 2022 fusion experiment took place at the National Ignition Facility, which has supported national security applications for more than 25 years.

Defense partnerships are gaining relevance as climate tech venture funding has stalled, according to the article. Fusion companies have attracted a large share of recent climate tech funding, but building fusion systems remains expensive. For startups, defense-related work can provide another source of capital while their commercial power ambitions continue to mature.

The defense industry has long explored laser weapons, and interest has risen as drones reshape warfare. Traditional air defense systems were built for larger, human-piloted aircraft, creating cost mismatches such as a $3 million Patriot missile being used to shoot down a $200 consumer drone. Laser weapons could shift that equation by firing quickly and relatively cheaply using electricity from a generator, ship reactor, or engine.

That makes laser-based fusion startups natural partners for defense contractors. Xcimer announced a partnership with and investment from RTX, the conglomerate that includes Raytheon, giving RTX a path to explore uses for Xcimer’s powerful lasers.

Xcimer operates what it says is the world’s largest privately owned laser system, Phoenix, in Denver. The system is intended to help develop a power plant, where lasers would bombard fuel targets until atoms fuse and release energy. While Phoenix runs at an order of magnitude lower power than Xcimer says a power plant will require, TechCrunch reports it is powerful enough to draw defense interest.

Pacific Fusion has also moved into the defense orbit through a memorandum of understanding with the National Nuclear Security Administration for high-energy-density fusion experiments. The company recently broke ground on a New Mexico demonstration facility near Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, with a primary goal of showing its design can generate more power than the facility consumes. TechCrunch reports the facility’s fusion reactions would be far more powerful than those the government currently uses for nuclear weapons experiments.