General Fusion has successfully formed a magnetized plasma inside its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), marking a significant step in the advancement of its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology.
The Burnaby-based company now aims to compress these plasmas with a lithium liner to generate fusion, tracking toward game-changing technical milestones that could pave the way for zero-carbon fusion energy within the next decade.
LM26, designed and built within 16 months, represents over two decades of technological progress. The machine is targeting key benchmarks, including achieving temperatures of 10 million and 100 million degrees Celsius, with the ultimate goal of reaching scientific breakeven in a commercially viable manner.
“We’ve built 24 plasma injectors, created over 200,000 plasmas, and generated fusion neutrons from plasma compressions – de-risking LM26 and preparing us for this new chapter at General Fusion,” said Dr. Michel Laberge, Founder and Chief Science Officer. “We’re ready to make some fusion happen in LM26!”