Powering a better world with Inertial Fusion.
We will make fusion power a reality within a decade by constructing the world’s highest-energy laser system and combining proven technologies in a way no one else saw.
- Our Approach
We are leading a team of the world’s best experts, institutions, and investors in pursuit of the lowest-risk path to fusion energy on the grid through laser-driven inertial confinement.
Leveraging laser technology originally pioneered for missile defense to build an economical 10+ megajoule class laser.
Scaling NIF’s historic fusion breakeven achievement into commercially viable fusion gain & operation.
Delivering baseload fusion electrical generation to the grid with leading plant economics and value.
- Our Technology
Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) has been studied in government laboratories largely out of public view for decades. Xcimer’s IFE architecture combines three essential components in a configuration that offers ground-breaking capability:
10+ MJ KrF Laser
Built on an advance in excimer laser architecture, our system delivers light at orders of magnitude lower cost and up to 10x higher energy than the NIF. By incorporating technologies developed in other fields, the laser eliminates the disadvantages of conventional approaches to IFE.
Fusion Target
Like NIF, our fuel capsules are consumables containing hydrogen (DT) fuel that are ignited by a laser, but at much larger size and mass resulting in higher performance, easier manufacturing, and more robust operation. The higher performance means a power plant can operate at lower repetition rates (less than 1 Hz) than conventional IFE concepts.
HYLIFE Chamber
Pioneered at Livermore National Lab and UC Berkeley over several decades, the chamber design uses a liquid flow of lithium salt (FLiBe) to absorb fusion output and completely protect the first structural wall, allowing 40-year lifetime and less activated waste than any other concept using DT fuel.
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Work with Us.
Fusion energy is the ultimate challenge and a world-changing mission; bring your passion and creativity to help us realize our vision for a better world.
- Our Vision
We believe that abundant energy creates a world where anything is possible.
Moving past energy scarcity will unlock a new optimism, and transform how we think about the future.
From climate change to national security and energy justice, fusion gives us what we need to address global challenges.
Powering the next generation of innovation, fusion will make desalination, carbon capture,
new materials and space travel plausible realities.
- Latest News and Updates
May 31, 2023 | Xcimer Energy
May 31, 2023 | U.S. Department of Energy
March 25, 2023 | Physics Today
March 22, 2023 | Economist
December 14, 2022 | New York Times
- Our Team
We are a group of world experts in fields that include lasers, optical physics, and fusion engineering that want to build technology to change the world.
Conner Galloway
CEO, Founder
Conner received a M.S. in nuclear engineering from the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center and began working in inertial fusion research and commercialization in 2009. He has extensive experience in numerical simulation and radiation hydrodynamic modeling and has led the development of Xcimer’s integrated IFE concept since the company’s inception.
Alexander Valys
CTO, Founder
Alexander received a B.S. in EECS from MIT and has held leadership roles in early-stage, innovative deep tech startups since 2002. He has led the development of novel technologies and growth of successful teams in multiple industries including healthcare, artificial intelligence and fusion.
Benjamin Wheeler
VP of Strategy, Founder
Ben spent the first 18 years of his career building electro-optical systems in national labs, telecommunications, and aerospace. He joined In-Q-Tel in 2012 where he matched venture-backed technology with critical US intelligence applications. He holds a M.S. in Optical Science from University of Rochester, and an MBA from Columbia.
Brent Gill
COO
Brent has over 15 years of operations management experience in technology companies from various industries. He has proven capabilities in team building, technology development, and facilitating growth. Brent holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University.
Susana Reyes, Ph.D.
VP, Chamber & Plant Design
Prior to joining Xcimer, Susana served as Deputy Director of US ITER and has participated in the design, construction and operation of a variety of DOE Office of Science projects. Earlier in her career she worked on safety analysis of IFE power plant designs and nuclear analyses for the design of NIF. She is a member of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) and Chair of the Fusion Power Associates Board of Directors and holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from UNED.
J. Gary Eden, Ph.D.
VP, Laser and Optical Physics
J. Gary Eden is a pioneer in the discovery, development and applications of ultraviolet (UV) lasers and lamps, as well as microplasma-based optical and chemical processing systems. He is co-inventor of 95 U.S. and international patents and co-author of more than 320 scientific publications, and co-founder of three companies commercializing the results of research he directed. He has been a member of the faculty of the University of Illinois since 1979.
Robert Lundy
VP, Defense
Robert is an experienced high technology executive. After serving as a general manager in IBM, he founded four venture financed companies in the telecom and national security space as CEO. He has worked extensively with customers and partners in defense and the worldwide intelligence communities. He served 11 years as an Army officer, holds a B.S. from West Point, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford and MBA from Stanford.
Cy Herring, Ph.D.
Director, Laser Engineering
Cy holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. His areas of expertise include UV optical coatings and UV excimer gas discharge technologies for products in industrial and commercial settings. He has a broad entrepreneurial and scientific background in optical physics, with hands-on experience designing and building systems with specific goals for industrial production lines using excimer sources.
Douglas Weidenheimer
Director, Pulsed Power Engineering
Doug has over 40 years experience in pulsed power engineering and had been a principal pulsed power designer at L3-Harris prior to joining the Xcimer team. At L3, he led design and delivery of the pulsed power systems for the Electra program at NRL, which holds the records for repetition rate and lifetime of an electron-beam-pumped excimer laser.
Bedros Afeyan, Ph.D.
Technical Advisory Board
Paul Hoff, Ph.D.
Technical Advisory Board
William Krupke, Ph.D.
Technical Advisory Board
Joseph Mangano, Ph.D.
Technical Advisory Board
Tom Mehlhorn, Ph.D.
Technical Advisory Board
Allen Offenberger, Ph.D.
Technical Advisory Board
Michael Tobin
Technical Advisory Board
We organize around small, dynamic, agile teams that prioritize multidisciplinary collaboration, ownership and fast execution.
Join Our Team
We are looking for talented and passionate scientists and engineers to join us and work together to develop world-changing technologies.
