LASEROPTIK participates in national program for laser fusion research

LASEROPTIK is one of ten selected partners in the PriFUSIO research project, which was initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and will be funded with 18 million euros over the next three years. PriFUSIO, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT), describes the systematic development of key technologies for future-oriented, climate-neutral fusion power plants. 

When made commercially viable, laser-driven inertial fusion energy (IFE) offers clean and safe energy generation 24/7. One gram of fusion fuel can generate as much energy as burning eleven tons of hard coal – without producing long-lived, highly radioactive waste and completely safe from nuclear meltdowns. 

The central project task of LASEROPTIK GmbH is to develop a new generation of precisely coated, extremely powerful, reliable and cost-effective high-end optics with which future high-performance lasers for IFE reactors will remain stable at extreme temperatures and can therefore be operated permanently. 

“It is a special honor to have been selected to work on this outstanding project. In view of the ambitious project goals, this is a commitment that we take very seriously,” comments Managing Director Dr Wolfgang Ebert on his company's involvement. 

The BMBF-funded project is part of the “Fusion 2040 - Research towards the fusion power plant” funding program, funding reference 13F1000I.  The objective is for Germany to be one of the first countries in the world to develop and build a fusion power plant.