First Light Fusion - A UK startup investigating impactor-driven ICF

First Light Fusion (FLF) is a private UK enterprise founded in 2012 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford, which is researching inertial confinement fusion (ICF) for the purpose of clean, economically viable power production. The company's goal is to design and demonstrate controlled nuclear fusion for generating commercial power using as simple technology as possible, as soon as possible. To this end, the driver technology being investigated currently focuses on hyper-velocity impactors, instead of technologically challenging, expensive and inefficient alternatives such as lasers. FLF is rapidly growing and extending its connections with private research institutions and academia in the UK and abroad. In this talk, we will present an overview of recent and current threads of research, including our experimental programmes utilising our two-stage light gas gun and various pulsed power machines, diagnostic development and our developing numerical modelling capabilities. The role of our numerical capabilities in particular is central as we have invested heavily in developing in-house tools, with which we can design, analyse and optimise target designs. In addition to a suite of commercial software (Helios, Comsol and others), our principal modelling tool is the front-tracking Eulerian-AMR code Hytrac. This code is presently in a state of continuous development and proving its capabilities as a flexible, highly configurable multi-physics plasma hydrodynamics code. In addition to highly accurate hydrodynamics, the code features 2T physics, thermal conduction, a fusion yield model, coupling to equation of state (EoS) tables and a simple radiation model. Recent work has focused on the development of the supplementary physics underpinning the code in the dense plasma regime of critical importance to ICF. We have additionally developed a Lagrangian-remap resistive magneto-hydrodynamics capability, known as Code B, which is being used to study and understand the physics of EM launch. The evolution of our numerical capabilities has facilitated an extremely rapid period of sustained target design development, which have mainly been fielded on our two-stage light gas gun. This has enabled us to study shock dynamics with launcher velocities up to 7 km/s. Experimental campaigns at external facilities such as the ERSF have also been undertaken to perform code validation and assess the importance of different physics for complex hydrodynamic phenomena, such as the jetting produced in asymmetric cavity collapse. The development of diagnostic techniques is also of crucial importance to our current efforts. We are currently investing heavily in optical, x-ray and neutron diagnostics of varying complexity. In particular, we have recently begun using our Big Sister x-pinch machine to produce an efficient, point-projection hard x-ray back lighter which can be used for dynamic radiography. Initial investigations of the possibilities of developing advanced x-ray diagnostics such as absorption spectroscopy and x-ray Thomson scattering are also underway. All our present efforts and advances feed into informing the design space for our next generation driver, M3. Started in 2017 and due for commission in December 2018, M3 will be among the world's most powerful pulsed power devices, operating at peak currents greater than 14 MA. We aim to start experiments on a half-capacity machine by August-September. Fusion experiments are expected to start with completion of the full machine. Finally, we will briefly address our vision for moving from fusion in the laboratory to a gain-level experiment, and outline our unique reactor concept design.