Leonardo Electronics US Inc. (a subsidiary of Leonardo SpA), a manufacturer of high-power semiconductor laser diodes, and Inertia Enterprises, the commercial fusion energy company, today announced a collaboration to develop the technical and manufacturing framework for fusion-class laser system components.
The work will focus on the high-power semiconductor laser assemblies, pump systems, cooling approaches, and manufacturing processes needed to turn laser fusion from a scientific achievement into affordable industrial energy infrastructure.
Inertia’s approach to commercial laser fusion requires thousands of laser systems firing ten times a second at fusion fuel targets. Those operations depend on laser components that are cost-effective, powerful, efficient, manufacturable, and durable enough for power-plant operation.
“Fusion’s future depends on turning high-power laser technology from custom systems into true industrial infrastructure. The demand created through this partnership will allow us to scale diode-laser production in ways this market has not experienced, using automation, technology development, strategic sourcing, and semiconductor-grade process control. This collaboration confirms Leonardo’s commitment to investing in the manufacturing infrastructure of IFE-class lasers, and we see a clear, credible path to the cost reductions required to make laser-based fusion an economically viable energy source,” said Tom Glynn, CEO, Leonardo Electronics US Inc.
Leonardo already contributes to the Science & Technology Accelerated Research for Fusion Innovation and Reactor Engineering (STARFIRE) program led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which signed, which signed a historic public-private partnership with Inertia Enterprises earlier this year.
“Leonardo’s experience with high-power diode arrays, homogenized pump systems, hard-solder assemblies and advanced cooling makes them an ideal partner for the layer of the laser system where component performance matters the most,” said Mike Dunne, co-founder and chief technology officer at Inertia Enterprises. “For commercial fusion, we are making these systems powerful, repeatable and orders of magnitude cheaper."
This collaboration with Leonardo reflects Inertia’s wider strategy of working directly with companies that already build the core technologies that commercial fusion demands. As these relationships mature, Inertia and its partners will define the specific technical and commercial roadmap needed for industrial-scale fusion power plant construction.
Read the full joint announcement.