Fusion startup Xcimer Energy has activated the Phoenix laser system, claiming it as the world's largest privately owned example. Inspired by the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which demonstrated a controlled fusion reaction in December 2022, Xcimer aims to make this process more profitable through more powerful and less complex lasers.

The NIF uses 192 laser beams focused on a pencil eraser-sized fuel target. The energy from the lasers hits the gold target, converting into X-rays that compress the fuel pellet, causing atoms to fuse and release energy. Xcimer's plan includes two microsecond-pulse lasers feeding through a compression system, delivering energy in nanoseconds for rapid compression.

Phoenix employs excimer amplification akin to those used in semiconductor production but significantly more powerful. At full strength, the krypton-fluoride laser generates over 1 kilojoule of energy and has a core measuring 38 meters long. However, it’s still far from the 12 megajoules needed for commercial power plants.

Xcimer aims to complete a prototype by 2028, followed by a larger system intended to produce at least as much power as it consumes. By the mid-2030s, they plan to construct their first commercial scale power plant.