The production and delivery of inertial fusion energy power plant fuel: The cryogenic target

The High Average Power Laser (HAPL) Program, directed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, is pursuing an all-systems approach to inertial fusion energy (IFE) with lasers. Systems that will be needed for an IFE power plant, such as the laser drivers, cryogenic targets, target factory, target injection, target tracking and engagement, chamber design, and chamber materials to name a few, are all being developed in parallel at various laboratories, universities, and companies across the U.S. While all such systems in an IFE power plant are essential, at the heart of the energy production is the fuel, the cryogenic target. The emphasis at General Atomics is the development of cryogenic targets within physics specifications, the economical mass production of targets, and the delivery of the targets to the center of the chamber within tight tolerances.