Show that ultrashort laser pulses on nanostructured fuel targets can drive fusion efficiently and repeatedly, the basis for a prototype reactor in 2032 and commercial plants from 2036.
ResearchStage 1 of 5
ATLAS building due for substantial completion Dec 2026; fusion test runs 2027-2031.
Updated 12 Aug 2026·Checked 11 Oct·0 updates this week
Milestones
Next · ATLAS facility substantially complete
$150M partnership with Colorado State University announcedAug 2023Complete.
Construction starts at CSU's Foothills CampusOct 2024Complete.
Series B extended to €113MMar 2025Complete.
Letter of intent with Colorado and Siemens Energy12 Aug 2026Complete.
ATLAS facility substantially completeTarget Dec 2026Current milestone.
Component tests and high-repetition fusion runsTarget 2027Not yet reached.
Dec 2026ATLAS facility substantially completein about 7 weeks (next)
2027Component tests and high-repetition fusion runs
2027First fusion demonstration runs at ATLAS
2032Integrated prototype reactor complete
2036Commercial roll-out
Current obstacles
Unproven gain physicsCritics argue uncompressed nanowire targets cannot reach the density fusion gain needs; ATLAS runs from 2027 must test it.
Lasers that fire all dayResearch petawatt lasers fire rarely; a plant needs efficient lasers firing several times per second for years.
Physics limits
Laser efficiencyOnly a fraction of the electricity fed to a laser comes out as light, so the fusion yield per shot must exceed laser input by a large margin before a plant makes net power.
A fresh target every shotEach pulse destroys its target, so a plant consumes millions of precisely made targets a day and their cost goes straight into the price of power.
How it works
4 parts
Ultrashort pulse
All the energy in 100 femtoseconds
Squeezing a laser pulse into about 100 quadrillionths of a second makes peak power reach petawatts, millions of times a power plant's output, for an instant.
Nanostructured target
Fuel built to soak up light
Nanoscale wires or tubes in the target absorb the pulse far better than a flat foil and fling fuel nuclei into each other.
Repetition
Several shots a second
A plant would inject fresh targets and fire several times a second; changing the shot rate changes the power output.
Power plant
Turbines from Siemens Energy
Released heat drives a conventional steam cycle; Siemens Energy designs turbines, grid connection and battery storage.
Spec sheet
Spec
ATLAS fusion demonstrator
Combined laser peak power
7 petawattsR (reported)
Pulse length
About 100 femtosecondsR (reported)
Lasers
3 (CSU's upgraded laser + 2 from Marvel)R (reported)
Munich laser-fusion company founded in 2019. It hits nanostructured fuel targets with ultrashort, ultra-intense laser pulses, and is building the ATLAS laser facility with Colorado State University.
About €385 million raised, €170M of it private; investors include EQT, Siemens Energy and the EIC Fund (its first fusion stake).
ATLAS, a 7-petawatt laser facility at Colorado State University, is due for completion in December 2026.
Targets a prototype reactor in 2032 and commercial plants from 2036; Siemens Energy designs the power-plant side.
