Xcimer Energy Builds World’s First Private-Sector Excimer Laser, Paving the Way for Fusion-Powered Future
In a historic advancement for private-sector fusion energy, Xcimer Energy Inc. has successfully completed the world’s first electron-beam-pumped excimer laser developed entirely with private funding. This milestone not only marks a turning point for the company but also for the global fusion energy race. Notably, this is the first such laser constructed by any institution—public or private—in more than two decades, and it represents a significant leap forward in laser and fusion energy research.
At the core of this breakthrough is Xcimer’s Long Pulse Kinetics (LPK) platform, which recently achieved a world-record 3-microsecond pulse length using a Krypton Fluoride (KrF) laser. This makes it the longest pulse length ever recorded for this laser type, setting a new benchmark for high-energy laser technology.
The LPK is a key foundational element of Xcimer’s broader ambitions. It is part of the company’s Phoenix prototype laser system, which is scheduled for completion in 2026. The data from the LPK testbed is being used to validate theoretical laser models and inform the engineering design of future systems that will be used in inertial confinement fusion (ICF), a fusion method that mimics the conditions inside stars to generate energy.
Fusion Development: Ahead of Schedule
Xcimer submitted a detailed technical report on the LPK system to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, a cutting-edge initiative aimed at catalyzing private sector innovation in fusion. Impressively, the company submitted its milestone report three months ahead of schedule, marking its first major technical accomplishment under the program.
This fusion development program is inspired by NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) initiative, which successfully accelerated the private spaceflight industry. Like COTS, the fusion milestone program is designed to reduce technical risks early and accelerate timelines by encouraging private companies to pursue aggressive and innovative solutions.
“This milestone also sends the strongest signal yet that the private sector can build on decades of public investment to turn transformative research into commercially viable systems,” said Conner Galloway, Xcimer’s CEO and Chief Science Officer. “We’ve seen this transition before in industries like space—and we’re beginning to see it happen in fusion.”
Building the Future: Project Vulcan
With LPK complete, Xcimer now turns its attention to Vulcan, the company’s next-generation laser facility. Scheduled for construction by 2030, Vulcan aims to be the most powerful laser energy installation in the world, built around the largest laser amplifiers ever constructed. The engineering specifications and design will be shaped by the extensive data gathered from the LPK platform.
Vulcan is envisioned not only as a technical marvel but also as an economic and regional development catalyst. Xcimer is currently evaluating potential sites across the U.S. for the facility. The project is expected to create hundreds of high-paying jobs, ranging from physicists and engineers to skilled technicians and administrative staff.
“We expect Vulcan to be a transformative project for the host community,” said Alexander Valys, Chief Technology Officer at Xcimer. “Nearly 100 people on our team should take a moment to appreciate the completion of LPK. But only for a moment – because LPK is the smallest laser we will ever build, and we have an exciting journey ahead.”
The site that secures Vulcan could become a regional nucleus for zero-carbon energy innovation, potentially attracting companies in artificial intelligence, medical research, robotics, and advanced manufacturing. Xcimer plans to narrow down site candidates by late 2025, with intense competition underway among utilities, municipalities, and regional economic development authorities.
The Science of Fusion: Replicating the Stars
Fusion energy is generated when light atomic nuclei merge into heavier ones, releasing immense energy—an exact replica of the process that powers the sun and stars. The implications of this are enormous: a single gram of fusion fuel can release as much energy as 11 metric tons of coal, all without the carbon emissions, radiation risks, or long-lived waste associated with fission.
Fusion is widely considered the holy grail of energy sources—a clean, safe, and virtually limitless solution that could provide the foundation for sustainable human civilization for centuries. The energy from fusion has applications across industries, from powering energy-intensive AI and robotics to enabling space missions, clean water desalination, advanced manufacturing, and carbon-free transportation.
Xcimer is focused on developing the most economically scalable approach to fusion, using inertial confinement techniques driven by powerful excimer lasers. Their system works by directing extremely high-energy laser pulses onto a pea-sized capsule of fuel, creating temperatures and pressures sufficient to trigger fusion. The energy released is then absorbed by molten salt, which carries the heat to a steam turbine, generating electricity through conventional means.
Unlike other fusion approaches, Xcimer’s architecture is designed with several advantages:
- Subsystem decoupling, which simplifies maintenance and operations.
- A high fuel burn-up fraction, improving overall energy efficiency.
- The ability to protect the reactor’s inner chamber with flowing molten salt, extending structural lifespan and reducing replacement costs.
Race to Fusion: Global Momentum Builds
Xcimer’s efforts follow in the footsteps of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which made global headlines in 2022 by achieving scientific breakeven—the moment when a fusion reaction releases more energy than it takes to initiate it. This was a critical milestone in a field that has long promised more than it delivered.
Xcimer, founded a year before NIF’s historic result, believes it can go much further. Its proprietary laser architecture is expected to produce 10 times more energy with 10 times the efficiency compared to NIF’s current setup. Importantly, Xcimer’s excimer lasers eliminate the optical damage issues that have plagued NIF-style systems.
Excimer lasers—while widely used in medical procedures, chip manufacturing, and industrial applications—have never before been employed at scale for energy production. If successful, Xcimer will become the first company in history to do so.
Public and Private Investment: Fueling Fusion’s Rise
Since its founding in 2022, Xcimer has raised over $111 million from top-tier energy venture investors. The company also secured a $9 million award from the Department of Energy as part of its competitive milestone program.
Xcimer’s research partnerships span a who’s who of scientific institutions, including:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Savannah River National Laboratory
- Naval Research Laboratory
- MIT
- General Atomics
- Westinghouse
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics
Global Stakes: Fusion Goes Worldwide
While the U.S. leads in fusion startup activity, global competitors are rising fast.
- The UK has invested over $530 million into fusion via the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
- Germany has placed fusion at the center of its energy transition strategy.
- Japan includes fusion as a pillar of its 2050 clean energy roadmap.
- In China, government fusion investment surpassed $1.5 billion in 2023, and private investment surged from zero in 2021 to $1.3 billion in 2024.
The fusion industry, once largely academic, is becoming a global industrial force. The International Energy Agency estimates the commercial fusion sector could generate $3 trillion in annual revenue at maturity. Governments stand to reap substantial tax and economic benefits, and countries that lead in fusion could dominate future global energy markets.
At full scale, Xcimer and similar ventures could employ tens of thousands of workers, fueling supply chains, infrastructure development, and long-term innovation ecosystems.
