Laser fusion energy company HB11 Energy has signed an $8.2 million agreement with Defence Trailblazer to commercialise the world’s first-of-a-kind laser developed by the DualTech-USPL research group at the University of Adelaide.

This landmark partnership will, in the short term, result in a demonstrator for a design intended to become a state-of-the-art national laser fusion facility in Adelaide, which has already attracted international attention.

In the medium term, it will establish a laser manufacturing facility in Adelaide and collaborate on dual-use needs in defence, clean energy, space and health sectors under the federally funded $240 million Defence Trailblazer program.

This program could cement Adelaide as a hub for advanced manufacturing and innovation, and aligns with South Australia’s broader agenda of creating jobs as the collaboration is expected to generate over 1,000 direct jobs and 1,400 supply chain roles over four years.

The laser will emit high-energy pulses of light at low cost with very high wall-plug efficiency – the ratio of optical output power to consume electrical input power as measured at the wall plug. This combination will be crucial for many new applications, including to drive a fusion power plant to generate clean energy at low cost, according to HB11 Energy.

Dr. Warren McKenzie, Managing Director, HB11 Energy said: “Demonstrating more than 10 percent wall-plug efficiency will give Australia a seat at the table of global missions to produce the world’s first fusion power plant.

“Building Australia’s sovereign manufacturing expertise in laser technology will help us to secure a slice of an industry that will power the globe in the second half of the century. This is a multi billion dollar opportunity just to supply the world’s first-of-a–kind fusion power plant.

“It will enable Australia to export this capability, positioning us as an energy superpower in the global race towards fusion energy.”

Dr Sanjay Mazumdar, Executive Director of Defence Trailblazer, said: “We are excited to be partnering with HB11 Energy on an Australian-first project. The commercialisation of laser fusion technology and the establishment of a laser manufacturing facility will provide Australia with new and sovereign capability that will benefit the nation.”

Prof Miftar Ganija, Lead of the USPL Group at Adelaide University said: “We are excited to formalise this partnership between the University of Adelaide’s DualTech-USPL Group, Defence Trailblazer, and HB11 Energy. Beyond laser development, it will expand the STEM pipeline strengthening our workforce. Through this collaboration, the development of high-energy lasers will not only advance clean energy but also address critical needs across dual-use sectors, positioning Australia at the forefront of next-generation technologies.”

HB11 Energy (hb11.energy) is creating the future of clean energy; safe, reliable, and unlimited electricity, generated by fusion reactors that use abundant fuels with little or no harmful waste. It does this by using laser technology to fuse hydrogen and boron-11. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, while Boron-11 comprises some 80% of all Boron found in nature, is readily available, and is a stable, non-radioactive isotope.

Unlike other nuclear and fossil-fuel burning plants, HB11 Energy’s energy-generating process does not require large plants. Energy is released in the form of charged particles and can directly be converted to electricity without the need for steam turbines. This approach generates few neutrons through minority side reactions, which minimizes waste issues. There’s no risk of a reactor meltdown and the energy generated can be directed straight to the grid.

Background Information

South Australia’s economic opportunity:

Leading edge laser research from Adelaide University has opened a new economic opportunity for South Australia to establish an estimated 1,000 direct jobs and 1,400 supply chain roles over four years through the Defence Trailblazer program.

A number of laser designs developed by Dual-Tech USPL programme under the leadership of Prof Miftar Ganija have delivered the opportunity for the manufacturing of these laser systems and development for applications in clean fusion-energy, defence, medical, manufacturing, navigation (LIDAR), space and many more. In addition to HB11 Energy’s fusion program, the work of the DualTech USPL group has led to a deal with Defence Prime Thales.

The opportunity to claim a first-mover advantage and leapfrog the established 1 um laser industry to establish an industry from the locally developed 2um wavelength laser technology exists now for South Australian industry.

Adelaide University has already made a multi-million dollar investment in the establishment of a ~300m2 cleanroom that will house HB11 Energy’s demonstration laser system. The proof-of-concept would open the possibility for Australia to build a 2um petawatt laser as a national facility, which would be a world-first opening the door to international scientific co-operation. This vision of a National USPL capability includes manufacturing that will leverage Australia’s existing photonics industry and ensure a national laser facility were built primarily with Australian content.

For Defence, the initiative could make Adelaide a focal point for “Directed Energy” investments under Defence’s new strategy “Accelerating Asymmetric Advantage” including Commonwealth Government and additional private investment capital from the defence industry.

For Fusion, the high energy, high efficiency laser systems and the ability to manufacture these systems locally will open the possibility for Australia to participate in international missions, such as being led by the USA via their Fusion Energy Strategy.

Why USPLs:

Ultra-Short-Pulse Laser (USPL) systems are distinct from more common continuous wave lasers as they do not produce a continuous wave of light.

The key advantage is the ability to compress light into extreme intensity pulses that enable new physical processes not possible with conventional lasers. This has led to pulsed lasers being the subject of two Nobel Prizes in physics the last 5 years and an emerging industry at a furious pace.

The key differentiator of the Adelaide University Dual-Tech USPL technology within this emerging industry is the development of lasers that operate in mid-infrared (IR) light wavelength – 2um, distinct from the current state of the art conventional USPL lasers that operate in the near-IR 1um wavelength. The new 2 um laser light interaction with materials is very different, enabling many valuable practical applications. Amongst the advantages are the significant increase in energy efficiency, permitting physically smaller systems that are eye-safe and have a greater propagation distance of the laser through air. Two novel applications include fusion energy and defence applications of “Directed Energy.” The vision of the DualTech-USPL Group is to create high-powered laser systems and establish the first Australian sovereign laser manufacturing capability.

Fusion Energy:

A laser source with > 10% wall plug efficiency has been identified by the US Department of Energy as a technology gap for commercial laser fusion energy using the same process that achieved fusion net-energy-gain at the US National Ignition Facility.

These high efficiency lasers do not currently exist for 1um pulsed laser sources but are near proof-of-concept for 2um lasers from Adelaide’s USPL group.

Their smaller footprint and enhanced ability to accelerate protons will make it a key for future power plants based on proton fast ignition being developed by HB11 Energy.

Many national strategies have been launched by countries in a race to build the world’s first fusion power plant.

This technology and the ability to manufacture the lasers is critical to preserve Australia’s participation in such international missions.

Defence:

A longer-range reaching laser can be smaller, mobile with lower cooling requirements than conventional lasers as it uses less power.

The use of laser “Directed Energy” is applicable to drone warfare countermeasures with its importance underlined by the listing as one of Defence Science and Technology Groups priorities under the 2024 National Defence Strategy.

The 2um laser systems will extend the range of existing systems to kilometres (from hundreds of meters), be powered by existing vehicle systems and can be used more easily in training as the risk of eye damage from reflections is minimised.

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