Japanese laser fusion company EX-Fusion has announced close of an over-subscribed ¥1.8 billion seed-round investment designed to accelerate the commercial development of laser fusion technology.
EX-Fusion has raised ¥130 million to date, and this latest financing will bring the total amount raised to ¥1.93 billion.
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Currently, there is growing interest in the potential of laser fusion for achieving a decarbonised society, and international competition is intensifying. In the past, academic research and development have been carried out mainly by universities and national research institutes in various countries but following the announcement of the energy gain (net energy gain) experimental results of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States on December 13, 2022, startup companies around the world are accelerating towards the commercialisation of laser fusion.
“EX-Fusion is committed to promoting the commercialization of laser fusion in Japan. By combining high-output, high-repetition laser technology, continuous target supply devices, and cutting-edge optical control technology, we aim to realise the world’s first commercial laser fusion power plant, and contribute to the development of technology in various optical industries, not limited to the energy sector,” the company said in a statement.
“Since the previous round of funding, we have focused on the development of components for laser control. Through this round of funding, we will establish our own facility and prepare an environment for integrated testing of these components.
In addition, larger components are required to control higher-output lasers. In order to become a global leader in future nuclear fusion energy science, we aim to achieve in-house production of dedicated laser systems and advanced manufacturing technologies, as well as establish a variety of optical industries centered on laser fusion, and make significant progress as a producer of clean energy.”
Masahiro Samejima from lead investment firm, ANRI, said, “I am very happy to be able to participate in this round of funding as the lead investor.
“We have been supporting the company since the pre-startup stage of the technology concept, and we feel that the world’s attention to laser fusion is rapidly increasing due to the research results of the NIF in the United States. On the other hand, there are still various elemental technologies to be developed and time to realise laser fusion, so we would like to support the company steadily as a ‘patient capital’ that can carefully nurture such ‘tough tech’ in a long-term perspective, without being too affected by the trends of the world. Let’s somehow deliver the ‘sun on earth’ to humanity.”
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EX-Fusion will explore many new technology areas, including clean energy generation, and maximise the potential of laser fusion energy. In particular, it says it will contribute to the development of technology in various optical industries, not limited to the energy sector, by utilising the continuous target supply devices and cutting-edge optical control technology that have been obtained in the process of striving to realise a commercial laser fusion power plant.
