Focused Energy and Oxford Sigma accelerate power station designs for fusion energy with long-term strategic collaboration

Oxford Sigma and Focused Energy have signed a long-term strategic collaboration focused on accelerating the design and development of their inertial-confinement fusion power station device for commercial, carbon-free, energy production.

Focused Energy has developed a revolutionary direct-drive proton fast ignition technology for inertial confinement fusion energy. As a fusion technology company, Oxford Sigma works on the development of fusion materials and in-vessel component design to ensure long-term and safe operation of fusion power plants. Oxford Sigma will be developing the power station design and management schemes with Focused Energy in order to accelerate the deployment of this world-changing technology.

Focused Energy is a fusion energy company based in the USA and Germany with strong academic background, underpinning the simple, yet flexible approach to inertial fusion energy. Their technology builds on the same principles as the breakthroughs discovered at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), where the world’s first fusion energy multiplication was achieved through laser driven D-T fusion. Focused Energy’s novel direct-drive proton fast-ignition technology takes this technology to commercially relevant regimes, with the ability to effectively inject huge amounts of laser energy directly into a fusion target, combined with an extensive research program on the laser technology and pulsed power technology development.

Oxford Sigma is a fusion technology company, founded by fusion materials and engineering experts, with the mission to deliver materials technology and design solutions to accelerate the commercialisation of fusion energy. Based in Oxfordshire, UK, the company’s team are world experts in fusion materials and fusion design, with access to experimental faculties to accelerate fusion power station technology.

‘Oxford Sigma’s technical services will help and support our current and growing team in the development of Inertial Fusion Energy. Their expertise in reactor design and materials in Fusion will help deliver our Quasar CDR (Concept Design Report), which is a key task supporting evidence to our TRL (Technology Readiness Levels) deliverable requirement’.

~Thomas Forner, CEO, Focused Energy

‘Commercial fusion power stations are on a critical pathway to become the ultimate energy source, and Focused Energy’s inertial-conferment fusion technology is on its way towards first place. This long-term strategic collaboration between Oxford Sigma and Focused Energy demonstrates that partnerships combining unique skill sets, backgrounds, expertise, and locations are the way forward to delivering on this carbon-free, long-term energy source.‘

~ Jonathan Musgrove, CEO, Oxford Sigma