Ignition Research sat down with Conner Galloway, CEO/Founder, and Alexander Valys, President/Founder, of Xcimer Energy Corporation, to discuss their company and the future of fusion energy development.

Conner and Alex both went to school together at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and worked together at Los Alamos National Laboratory in graduate school. Conner studied Physics and Nuclear engineering, while Alex studied EECS. After working on inertial fusion research for several years after grad school, their careers diverged. In Spring 2022 Conner and Alexander teamed up again to found Xcimer, where they decided to build upon the success of NIF to build a laser-based fusion company.

1. Tell us about the origin of Xcimer?

Our goal at Xcimer Energy Corporation is to use the same physics proven at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) but scaled to commercial operation. NIF’s biggest weakness is that they need a bigger laser; we realized that using a UV-native excimer gas laser would let us hit the energy and efficiency levels we wanted to achieve, but at much lower costs that makes a power-plant scale system practical.

2. Who are the investors in Xcimer Energy Corporation?

Our investors are those who see the potential for fusion energy to change the world – by solving climate change and by making clean and abundant energy accessible to all. These investors tend to be mission-oriented venture funds or family offices that want to make an impact on the world. We were also awarded a major DoE milestone award as a seed-stage company (actually the 2nd highest that was awarded that year, behind CFS).

3. What makes your approach unique in the market?

We are the only company focused on dramatically reducing the cost of ICF-class lasers. This means we can afford high laser energy which allows us to use larger, more robust, more reliable fuel capsules, which produce higher gain and enable a low repetition rate of about 1 Hz. This enables use of a molten salt first wall to insulate the fusion machine structure from neutrons produced from fusion, which bypasses material science concerns. Together, this enables the most practical and proven path to put inertial fusion energy on the grid.

4. Who are your target customers?

Electric utilities are the obvious first target, primarily those looking for machines at 300MW of capacity or above (bigger is more economical). Other targets include industries that require heat and energy for their industrial processes, as well as for uses like desalinization. The real goal is gigawatt-scale plants, which is what will be needed to “make a difference”.

Prior to reaching commercial fusion operations, we have taken on several other customers from the defense world who need strong sources of X-rays and fast neutrons, whether for satellite work or other aerospace needs. This is exactly the reason that NIF was built. We have more defense applications than anyone else.

5. What is your biggest fusion supply chain challenge?

In general, there are not specific materials that are a challenge in the supply chain; most of the materials we use, including the liquid metal first wall, are well-understood. The biggest problems are “scaling up” these materials and machines so that they can support the manufacture of hundreds of fusion powerplants per year. Beryllium is a good example of the scale-up problem (it is used in the molten metal first wall). The other problem is “bringing back capacity” from US sources for these materials, machines, and technologies. Thirty to forty years ago, the capacity existed; now much of it is overseas. Thin-film capacitors is a good example; there are few people that build them in the US, and even less making the films for them.

Human capital is another potential issue, but we are approaching this as a “knowledge transfer” process. For people that have been around fusion for a long time, being this close to success is bringing them back; these people can help train the newer people. Fusion is fun and exciting, so it isn’t hard to attract people.

6. When will fusion start powering the grid?

We believe that 2035 will be when we will first see fusion power on the grid. There is a lot of work to get there, but it is quite doable.

7. Which country will be first to fusion?

That is a hard question. Undoubtedly, the US and its western allies have had a lead in this area over the Chinese, who are our biggest competitors. They are gaining fast – with more trained people, better access to rare-earths and other strategic materials, they are becoming very competitive and making fast progress. They are also putting more funding into fusion than the US government, which is also a problem. That said, fusion is the United State’s race to lose.