On December 13, 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced the achievement of fusion ignition at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California.[1] On December 5, 2022, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history to produce more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it. The experiment surpassed the fusion threshold by delivering 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of energy to the target, resulting in 3.15 MJ of fusion energy output. The LLNL’s NIF is the world’s largest and most energetic laser system—roughly the size of a sports stadium. The successful experiment is an essential step toward commercial fusion power. However, in the press release, the DOE acknowledged that many advanced science and technology developments are still needed to achieve simple, affordable fusion energy. The DOE is currently restarting a broad-based, coordinated program in the U.S.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-national-laboratory-makes-history-achieving-fusion-ignition