Check Your Pulsar

Pacific Fusion is testing some out-of-this-world science experiments at its lab

Pacific Fusion reported results February 5 from a series of experiments conducted at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z Pulsed Power Facility in Albuquerque under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

In a series of tests on Sandia’s Z machine – the world’s most powerful pulsed-power facility – the team gathered measurements on a simplified target design, made only of aluminum and plastic, that can potentially be used as the basis for pulser-driven inertial confinement fusion, or ICF. The measurements provide data to help evaluate and refine target designs in this area of research.

Fusion, the same process that powers the sun, is an area of ongoing research across government, academia and industry.

Pacific Fusion was founded in 2023 to deliver affordable fusion energy. The company’s work draws on established research in inertial fusion and pulsed power. Sandia’s Z facility has supported decades of pulsed-power science and fusion-related experiments.

ICF uses fast pulses of energy to implode small targets containing fusion fuel, causing them to release massive amounts of energy on each shot. In 2022, the laser-based National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported the first experiment to achieve fusion “ignition” as defined by NIF.

During four tests at the Z machine, researchers delivered a 22-million-amp pulse in just 120 nanoseconds – roughly a million times faster than the blink of an eye. Magnetic sensors embedded in the targets measured how the magnetic field moved through the material, confirming that the magnetic diffusion design works as intended.

Sandia researchers said this experiment highlighted the value of industry-laboratory collaboration in advancing fusion science.

“These experiments are a good example of collaboration between the national labs and industry for research that is a dual benefit for Pacific Fusion and Sandia,” said Greg Rochau, director of Sandia’s Pulsed Power Sciences in a February 5 press release. “Z is presently the only facility providing these unique pulsed-power capabilities that support a broad range of high-energy-density physics and fusion-related research. Results like these help strengthen the scientific foundation Sandia applies to its national security mission.”

The work directly informs the design of Pacific Fusion’s planned Demonstration System, which will be built in New Mexico and is aimed at achieving net facility gain — producing more fusion energy than the energy stored in the system — by 2030. This milestone is considered essential for unlocking commercial fusion power in the United States by the mid-2030s.

The collaboration between Sandia and Pacific Fusion aligns with the Department of Energy’s Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap released in October 2025.