Technology December 12, 2023 6:54:37 am

Dept. of Energy to fund $16M fusion energy hub at Colorado State University

CSU Rise — Laser systems will be developed and used by Inertial Fusion Science and Technology hub researchers at Colorado State University to heat a small target and produce fusion energy, which can be harvested to power the grid. Courtesy CSU.

By BizWest Staff

FORT COLLINS — The U.S. Department of Energy will invest $16 million over the next four years to fund the Inertial Fusion Science and Technology hub, known as RISE, recently established at Colorado State University.

The research effort, a collaboration between several institutions including Stanford and Cornell universities, “will focus on advancing inertial fusion energy, or IFE, a power source that could one day dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of how energy is supplied globally,” CSU said. “… Fusion, the process that powers the sun, could be the key to enabling a safe, clean, and reliable energy source. Inertial fusion energy is a promising approach to fusion energy that uses powerful lasers to heat a small target containing fusible material.”

CSU engineering professor Carmen Menoni will lead the RISE hub.

Colorado researchers will conduct “to help make commercial fusion a success,” the Fort Collins university said, using the ALEPH laser system, built in-house at CSU under the leadership of professor Jorge Rocca.