Experimental Breakthrough by Pacific Fusion Clears Major Obstacle to Affordable Commercial Fusion

Pacific Fusion, powering a prosperous planet, led by Keith LeChien, and others, has achieved a major breakthrough in fusion energy research by showing how to achieve pulser-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) with a radically simpler design, removing a significant roadblock to practical fusion power at scale.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) uses laser or electric pulses to implode small fuel targets, releasing massive energy, first achieving controlled ignition at the National Ignition Facility in 2022. With ignition proven, the challenge has shifted to making fusion practical and affordable, as critical components are destroyed with each shot, making replacement costs far higher than the energy produced in a commercial setting.

Laser-driven ICF targets are costly, while pulser-driven ICF offers a potentially cheaper, more robust path using simpler targets and electric pulsers. However, it requires pre-magnetizing the fusion fuel, traditionally done with large, single-use magnetic coils. Achieving low-cost pulser-driven fusion depends on finding an inexpensive method to pre-magnetize fuel without these coils.

Pacific Fusion demonstrated a new target design on Sandia’s Z-machine that eliminates costly external magnetic coils. Made from plastic and aluminum, these simple targets generate their own internal magnetic field to pre-magnetize the fusion fuel, improving heat retention and making pulser-driven inertial fusion ignition easier.

Pacific Fusion earned access to four shots on Sandia’s Z Machine, the world’s most powerful pulsed-power facility. In October, two versions of a new target design, small metal cylinders roughly the size of a pencil eraser, combining an aluminum conducting layer with insulating plastic, were tested. Each shot delivered 22 million amps in just 120 nanoseconds.

B-dot sensors confirmed that the targets’ materials alone allowed magnetic fields to penetrate, eliminating the need for external pre-magnetization. Field penetration depended on aluminum thickness: thinner layers enabled faster, stronger magnetic entry, offering a way to fine-tune performance.

Crucially, simulations from Pacific Fusion’s FLASH software accurately predicted the experimental outcomes, validating its use for designing future targets. The team now plans to test alternative conductors and insulators, such as ceramics, to further improve performance.

The results indicate that fusion targets can now perform functions previously requiring external hardware, including pre-magnetization, and potentially pre-heating, simplifying target-chamber design and advancing economically viable fusion. Pacific Fusion has selected Albuquerque for its Demonstration System, aiming for net facility gain by 2030 and a first commercial fusion system by the mid-2030s. Collaboration with the Z-Machine team highlights the impact of public-private partnerships in achieving breakthrough fusion results.