Photo by Alexander Pütter on Unsplash (illustrative)
On 7 April 2025, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California set a new record for laser-driven fusion. Their experiment released 8.6 megajoules of fusion energy, more than four times the laser energy that struck the tiny fuel capsule.
Key facts
The record shot produced 8.6 MJ (plus or minus 0.45 MJ) from 2.08 MJ of laser energy, a target gain of 4.13.
That more than doubled the 3.15 MJ produced in NIF's first ignition experiment in December 2022.
NIF has now achieved ignition 11 times; the most recent listed shot, on 20 June 2026, yielded 7.9 MJ.
In April 2026, the lab credited a new capsule design that blends tungsten gradually into a diamond shell with helping enable the record.
Why it matters
Repeating ignition and steadily raising the gain shows that fusion on Earth can be made more reliable and more efficient. What scientists learn about fuel capsules and implosions will guide the design of future fusion power systems.
Worth noting
Target gain compares fusion output only with the laser energy delivered to the capsule, not with the electricity used to run the lasers, so NIF is a research facility rather than a power source. Fusion electricity on the grid is still a long way off.