Marvel Fusion: Ultrafast High-intensity Laser-driven Fusion with Nanostructured Targets

Nuclear fusion as a future energy source is increasingly being recognized. A key challenge is how nuclear fusion plants can be designed to not only produce more energy than they consume but also to be economically viable. Fusion economics weighs the cost of building and operating a power plant against the expected energy yield. The resulting cent/kWh metric for the levelized cost of electricity improves through either cost reductions or yield increases. Marvel Fusion seeks to reduce cost and increase yield by lowering the complexity of the overall plant design. Reduced complexity results from the use of nanostructured targets and advanced short-pulse lasers, as well as the possibility to use aneutronic fusion reactions (such as proton-boron11), which avoid fast neutrons as the carrier of fusion energy release. A further advantage is that there is no need for using and storing tritium as required in the DT thermonuclear fusion concept. Marvel Fusion is developing a new non-thermal approach for fusion energy production using highly efficient, nanoscopic particle acceleration driven by ultrafast high-intensity lasers in bespoke nanostructured fuel targets [Ruhl & Korn, arXiv:2202.03170]. In this presentation, key elements of this approach will be outlined on our roadmap to fusion energy production. Together, this could result in advantageous economics for the large-scale deployment of fusion power.