Unique target design
The First Light Fusion ‘target’ is our key proprietary and proven technology. Our unique target design has the potential to enable the commercialisation of fusion energy and offers a cheaper and quicker route to an IFE fusion power plant.
Our targets have two aspects, the amplifier and the fuel capsule. The amplifier does two things. First, it boosts the pressure of impact, causing the resulting pressure to be higher than that of the original input shock. Second, the amplifier creates convergence. This means the fuel is squashed from many directions, which is crucial for reaching the required final density for fusion.
The targets are the key technology in First Light’s approach to fusion and they are nearly all trade secrets.
Driver-agnostic
Our amplifier technology amplifies input energy delivered by a ‘driver’ machine, compressing fuel to high density and temperature to create a fusion reaction.
While we believe that a projectile system offers the best path to cost-competitive power production, this is not the only path available to us. Any system able to produce the required pressure on one side of the target could be used as an alternative. A high-energy laser, for example, would be able to do this. We design our target technology to be compatible with a range of drivers, from lasers, to coil guns, electric guns, heavy ion and direct electrical connection.