Fueling the Future with LIFE
For 50 years, it has been recognized that fusion energy provides a highly attractive solution to society's demand for safe, secure, environmentally sustainable energy—at a scale that meets our long-term needs. But despite fusion's tantalizing benefits, it has been largely ignored in energy policy discussions because it is viewed as a technology too immature to affect energy production over the next few decades, when it is most needed. Drawing on huge prior investment by the U.S. Department of Energy, and linking with recent innovations in the semiconductor industry, we are now at a stage to change this paradigm and offer a deliverable way forward.
Scientific demonstrations on the National Ignition Facility will provide the basis for a fleet of LIFE (laser inertial fusion energy) power plants that are being designed to deliver gigawatt-scale electricity—equivalent to the largest coal or nuclear power stations.