Xcimer Energy Receives Additional $30.5 Million Award from DOE Milestone Program
DENVER--( BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading laser fusion company Xcimer Energy announced today it’s finalized an agreement for up to $30.5 million in additional federal funding through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.
Leading laser fusion company Xcimer Energy announced today it’s finalized an agreement for up to $30.5 million in additional federal funding through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.
The new DOE award for the program’s second budget period brings the total DOE funding for potential Milestone payments to Xcimer to $39.5M. The most recent awards advance Xcimer into the second budget period of the federally supported fusion energy development program.
In addition, in 2024 Xcimer received a $4 million award from ARPA-E for a total of $43.5M in non-dilutive federal funding.
“America invented laser fusion, and America should lead its commercialization,” said the DOE’s Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil. “The Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program is built to turn American scientific leadership into commercial capability by putting private capital and private-sector execution behind ambitious, measurable goals. Xcimer is making real progress toward a new generation of laser fusion technology, and this award will help accelerate that work.”
Xcimer is developing an excimer laser architecture designed specifically for the requirements of a commercial fusion power plant. Unlike conventional approaches that rely on large numbers of solid-state laser beams and expensive optical components, Xcimer’s architecture uses cost-effective gas lasers, durable gas optics and a two-beamline configuration designed to deliver megajoule-scale laser energy repeatedly and economically.
“We have moved from proving that the physics works to building the industrial technology that can turn fusion into a commercial energy source,” said Conner Galloway, co-founder and CEO of Xcimer Energy. “This additional milestone funding gives us another powerful mechanism to accelerate that work while keeping the majority of the investment and risk in the private sector. We are building the laser, manufacturing systems and supply chain required to make commercial laser fusion possible.”
Xcimer’s commercial fusion program is targeting electricity on the grid in the mid-2030s.
Crucial time for Xcimer
In June, Xcimer launched operations of Phoenix, the world’s largest privately owned laser system, which demonstrates key elements of Xcimer’s excimer-laser and gas-optics architecture.
This summer, the US Department of Energy approved the preconceptual design and technology roadmap milestones for Xcimer’s commercial power-plant architecture, Athena, also part of the DOE’s Milestone Program.
In September, Xcimer and RTX announced a partnership to develop directed-energy air defense systems based on Xcimer’s pulsed laser technology. The companies plan to demonstrate the integration and containerization of Xcimer’s pulsed lasers with RTX’s air defense systems, offering the U.S. military new capabilities to defeat airborne threats. RTX also invested in Xcimer, directly strengthening Xcimer's laser fusion energy roadmap.
Read the full news release:
https://xcimer.energy/news/xcimer-energy-receives-additional-30-5-million-award-from-doe-milestone-program/
About Xcimer Energy
Xcimer Energy is developing the world’s most powerful lasers for commercial fusion energy and national security. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Xcimer has raised about $200 million from leading investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Emerson Collective, Prelude Ventures and others. The company is a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.