Australia invests in laser fusion industry

As Australia's first laser fusion energy company, HB11 Energy has been awarded A$22 million (US$15.5) to develop next-generation high-power lasers needed to create a multi-billion-dollar nuclear energy industry in the land down under.

This forms a part of the A$50 million (US$35.1 million) Trailblazer grant awarded to the universities of Adelaide and New South Wales under the "Defence Trailblazer for Concept to Sovereign Capability" bid. It comprises A$6 million (US$4.2 million) and A$16 million (US$11.2 million) in contributions from partners.

"We could not be more pleased with the outcome of this grant, and to have supported the submission made by the University of Adelaide and UNSW," said Warren McKenzie, founder and managing director of HB11 Energy. "The nuclear fusion energy industry alone could create billions in economic value for Australia, as long as we continue to see significant investment from Australian investors and government."

HB11 Energy will assist with the proof-of-concept and development of a new petawatt laser technology that is suited to generating hydrogen-boron fusion.

You can read more about HB11 Energy and its hydrogen-boron fusion technology at The dream of fusion made real with boron in the April 8, 2020 edition of Metal Tech News.

Hydrogen-boron reactions provide the potential for large-scale power for base-load grid electricity or hydrogen generation, using fuels that are safe and abundant. This fusion approach creates insignificant amounts of short-lived waste because it does not generate neutrons in the primary reaction.

The project supports a key element of HB11 Energy's technology roadmap toward creating a clean, safe, and reliable energy at better prices and in greater abundance than all existing renewable energy sources combined.

"If HB11 Energy's research program is successful, it will place Australia at the heart of an industry deploying the only truly safe, scalable, and extremely low-cost future energy," added McKenzie.

Developing this technology on home soil would also re-establish Australia as a leader in fusion technology, after Australian physicist Sir Mark Oliphant – who also studied physics at the University of Adelaide in 1919 – first experimentally demonstrated nuclear fusion and contributed to Ernest Rutherford's work first splitting the atom in 1932.

The hydrogen-boron fusion project is of critical importance not just to HB11 Energy, but all industries and companies working on technologies dependent on high-powered lasers such as biomedical engineering, quantum computing, semiconductor manufacturing, and proton and related medical therapies.

"On this journey, there is also a new multi-billion dollar industry to be built in both manufacturing these lasers and developing their applications in industries such as clean energy, health, manufacturing, quantum computing, and many others," continued McKenzie. "This Trailblazer grant opens a fantastic opportunity for Australia to lead these new industries and capture new advanced manufacturing opportunities that will grow from them."