Opportunities in pulsed magnetic fusion energy
Fusion is a potentially transformational energy technology, which promises limitless clean energy. Yet, it requires continued scientific and technological development to realize its potential. The conditions necessary for fusion energy gain in terms of the product of plasma pressure P and confinement time τ have been known for many decades. An underappreciated fact is that pulsed magnetic fusion (PMF) has demonstrated Pτ performance on par with laser-driven inertial confinement fusion and tokamaks despite receiving only a small fraction of investment relative to those concepts. In light of this demonstrated performance, well-established scaling relations, and opportunities for further innovations, here we advocate for PMF as the most attractive path toward commercialization of fusion energy.
Authors
- Adam Reyes
- M. R. Gómez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1967-7113)
- N. B. Meezan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7671-2886)
- W. A. Stygar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6159-1049)
- Adam Steiner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5811-4794)
- G. P. Grim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9648-3427)
- J. H. Hammer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9570-4730)
- A. B. Zylstra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0489-7479)
- C. Leland Ellison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1253-5868)
- Keith LeChien
- V. García (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2608-6450)
- Petros Tzeferacos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9042-6333)
- D. R. Welch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4709-5065)
- Patrick Knapp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3009-8673)
- R. R. Peterson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8944-6652)
- Christopher A. Jennings
Institutions
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (US)
- Fresno Pacific University (US)
- Sandia National Laboratories (US)
- Voss Scientific (United States) (US)
- University of Rochester (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physics of Plasmas
- Published
- 2025-09-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0273577
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.35
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
- Office of Science
- National Nuclear Security Administration
- Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratories
- Los Alamos National Laboratory