Dec 11, 2023
Laboratory for Laser Energetics to Lead New Inertial Fusion Energy Research Hub
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: innovation, nuclear energy
Federal funding brings together experts to chart a viable path to realizing fusion energy as a clean power source.
The University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) has received a four-year, $10 million award from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fusion Energy Science (FES) to lead a national research hub dedicated to advancing inertial fusion energy (IFE) science and technology.
The LLE-led inertial fusion energy hub—named IFE-COLoR, which stands for Inertial Fusion Energy-Consortium on LPI (laser-plasma interaction) Research—is one of only three such hubs in the nation selected by the DOE through competitive peer review. The award is part of a recent DOE initiative to stimulate IFE research and development by building on the momentum of scientists’ breakthrough in achieving ignition, or a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain, last year.