Xcimer wins extra $30.5M DOE grant to advance laser fusion
What's the deal? Denver-based Xcimer Energy has secured up to $30.5 million in additional federal funding through the US Department of EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. The award moves Xcimer into the program's second budget period and brings its total potential DOE milestone payments to $39.5 million.
What does Xcimer do? It is building an excimer laser architecture designed for commercial fusion power plants. Rather than relying on many solid-state laser beams and costly optics, its design uses cheaper gas lasers, durable gas optics and a two-beamline setup to deliver megajoule-scale energy repeatedly.
By the numbers: Xcimer has now won $43.5 million in non-dilutive federal funding, including a $4 million ARPA-EDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → award in 2024. It has also raised about $200 million from investors including Breakthrough Energy VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Lowercarbon CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Emerson Collective and Prelude VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? The company is targeting electricity on the grid in the mid-2030s. "We have moved from proving that the physics works to building the industrial technology that can turn fusion into a commercial energy source," said co-founder and chief executive officer Conner Galloway.
Why now? The grant caps a busy year. In June, Xcimer launched Phoenix, which it calls the world's largest privately owned laser system; this summer the DOE approved design milestones for its commercial plant architecture, Athena.
The other business: In September, Xcimer and RTXDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → announced a partnership to build directed-energy air defence systems using Xcimer's pulsed laser technology. RTXDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also invested in the company.
The signal: This grant lands in the top 5% of all US deep tech grant rounds on record, a sign of how much public money is flowing behind private fusion execution. As Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil put it, the program aims to turn "American scientific leadership into commercial capability."
Read more: streetinsider.com
Image credit: Xcimer Energy
