Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) of the U.S. Department of Energy has been selected to lead three research collaborations with fusion industry partners as part of the 2025 cohort of the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program. These awarded projects will leverage ORNL's expertise in fusion materials, plasma diagnostics, and advanced modeling and simulation to solve practical problems, create new technologies, and accelerate the development of fusion energy.
The INFUSE program, established in 2019, aims to promote public-private collaborative research with the fusion industry. It utilizes the unique capabilities and scientific talent of U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories and universities to address barriers to fusion energy technology development. Collaborating laboratories or universities can receive funding ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 for one- to two-year projects, with private companies required to contribute at least 20% of the cost. According to the official announcement of the U.S. Department of Energy, more than $6.1 million has been awarded to 20 projects to explore fields such as materials science, laser technology, superconducting magnets, and artificial intelligence for fusion modeling and simulation, advancing technologies toward economically viable fusion energy.
Troy Carter, Director of ORNL's Fusion Energy Division (FED), stated that the INFUSE awards highlight the critical role of national laboratories in advancing fusion energy research and strengthening U.S. leadership in the field. Such collaborations can apply knowledge and tools to support the needs of the fusion industry.
ORNL's INFUSE collaborative projects are as follows:
The first is a study on the mechanical properties of neutron-irradiated tungsten. Led by Xiang "Frank" Chen from ORNL's Materials Science and Technology Division, in collaboration with Commonwealth Fusion Systems in Massachusetts. ARC is the planned successor to SPARC, a commercially relevant experimental tokamak device being built by Commonwealth Fusion Systems. Plasma-facing components in ARC must withstand extreme heat and bombardment by particles such as neutrons, which can alter the mechanical properties of materials. The project will analyze tungsten samples, the primary candidate material, which have previously been irradiated in ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor. ORNL and Commonwealth will test tungsten and tungsten alloy samples to observe whether radiation damage affects the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of the material, a key property for reactor component design. By using pre-irradiated samples, Commonwealth can skip years of irradiation activities and accelerate ARC data collection and development.
The second is a study on fast ion confinement in WHAM using ORNL's advanced spectroscopy. Led by Keisuke Fujii from ORNL's Fusion Energy Division, in collaboration with Realta Fusion in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin High-field Axisymmetric Mirror (WHAM) is a magnetic mirror fusion system sponsored by Realta Fusion at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It produced its first plasma in July 2024, but with short confinement times. To address this issue and better predict device performance, Realta is developing and validating computational models of plasma particle behavior, incorporated into the RealTwin™ platform (creating a digital twin that simulates the entire device). ORNL will provide critical diagnostic data by measuring neutral particle and fast ion densities throughout the plasma to validate the models and guide strategies to reduce energy loss. The combination of advanced experimental facilities and ORNL's diagnostic expertise will improve the performance and reliability of the RealTwin platform, laying the foundation for Realta's next mirror device, Anvil, bringing fusion energy closer to commercial viability.
The third is simulation of the thermal and momentum effects of inertial fusion neutrons on chamber jets. Led by Arpan Sircar from ORNL's Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division, in collaboration with Xcimer Energy in Colorado. Xcimer Energy's approach to fusion energy is similar to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's experimental National Ignition Facility, but the device uses high-energy lasers to ignite larger fuel pellets in a special chamber called HYLIFE-III. The chamber uses FLiBe lithium molten salt jets as coolant and employs tritium breeding media and radiation shielding to protect the chamber. The micro-explosions in the chamber transfer the heat and momentum of neutrons to the fluid jets, potentially affecting jet performance and chamber shielding. ORNL will use the Fusion Energy Reactor Models Integrator (FERMI) to simulate neutron-fluid interactions. FERMI is a high-fidelity, multi-physics simulation framework originally developed for neutronics, computational fluid dynamics, and structural mechanics in magnetic fusion reactors. If successful, FERMI will help Xcimer improve its design by providing insights into reactor chamber shielding effectiveness and reset velocity after each shot.
Arnie Lumsdaine, ORNL's public-private partnerships lead and INFUSE Director, said that interest in INFUSE from both the public and private sectors continues to grow, with a record number of applications this year. The increase in project funding also indicates that it is a priority for the U.S. Department of Energy, and success is expected from this year's projects.
The INFUSE program is sponsored by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences under the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and is managed by ORNL and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Other awarded projects this year can be found on the INFUSE website. The University of Texas at Battelle manages ORNL on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, which is the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is committed to addressing the most pressing challenges of our time.
