Laser Inertial Confinement “… the most promising path to the first commercial fusion power plant.” This poll result was one of our favorite takeaways from FusionXInvest:Global 2025 conference at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, California – the world’s most significant meeting of the fusion investment community.
HB11 Energy Managing Director Warren McKenzie and COO Greg Ainsworth attended the meeting, with Greg joining a panel discussing the outlook for laser fusion energy businesses, along with First Light Fusion, Marvel Fusion, Longview Fusion Energy Systems and Xcimer Energy Corporation.
During the panel discussion, Greg commented: “We will be slower if we rely only on government and venture capital to finance fusion energy. We need to develop stronger, profit-generating businesses that drive the core technology forward.” Laser fusion companies are uniquely placed to take this strategy forward, with demand from dynamic sectors outside fusion energy driving faster improvement in the cost and performance of laser systems.
The conference concluded at the National Ignition Facility, where the historical result of fusion break-even, using laser inertial confinement fusion, was first achieved.
