First light Fusion reports experimental success at France facility
Oxford-based First Light Fusion revealed it had achieved 'experimental success' in France, which, it said, advances its journey towards delivering commercial fusion at scale.
At the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) the firm's scientists, along with the University of Oxford’s department of engineering science, investigated the formation and transit of shock waves through some of First Light Fusion’s amplifiers.
READ MORE: Oxford start-up First Light achieves nuclear fusion breakthrough
These amplifiers focus input energy from a projectile and boost the pressure from the impact to create a fusion reaction.
Over two days, the team fired aluminium projectiles at speeds around 800 m/s into different types of amplifiers and used ‘X-ray phase contrast imaging' to capture data.
"This data will be used to validate the performance of First Light’s amplifiers by comparing the results with numerical simulations of the experiment done with state-of-the-art hydrodynamics codes," First Light said.
"This will enable high quality benchmarking of the effect of material strength on the amplifier performance at these velocity regimes."
Francisco Suzuki-Vidal, lead of the collaborative experiments group at First Light Fusion, said: "I am really pleased with the results of this latest collaboration with Oxford University and the ESRF.
"The progress the team made with these experiments is a crucial step in our journey to delivering commercial fusion at scale. We look forward to continue working with our academic and industry partners through our Prosperity Partnership AMPLIFI on more ground-breaking research in the future."
The Prosperity Partnership, jointly funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and First Light Fusion, sponsors critical research into inertial fusion energy.
