Company to Collaborate with Colorado State University on High-Energy Pulsed Laser Optics to Advance Fusion Energy Commercialization
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / October 2, 2025 / Blue Laser Fusion Inc. (BLF), a leading fusion energy company, has won a highly competitive US Department of Energy (DOE) INFUSE project award to further develop its novel high-energy pulsed laser for inertial fusion energy applications in collaboration with Colorado State University (CSU).
The project focuses on the development of advanced optical interference coatings for the Blue Laser Fusion optical enhancement cavity (OEC) laser to generate the high pulse energy and fast repetition rates required for high gain, efficient fusion energy generation. The DOE funded work leverages the expertise of Dr. Carmen Menoni, University Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Colorado State University. Professor Menoni is a world leader in amorphous oxide interference coatings, critical components of the most advanced laser systems. She is also the Director of the Inertial Fusion Energy RISE HUB, supported by the US Department of Energy.
The project was awarded as part of the DOE’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) initiative, which awarded $6.1M to private public collaborations in 2025 to accelerate the development of cost-effective, innovative fusion energy technologies in the private sector. The DOE INFUSE program’s overarching objective is to ensure U.S. energy, environmental & security needs.
Dr. Shuji Nakamura, CEO of Blue Laser Fusion and 2014 Nobel Prize Winner, commented, “We are proud to announce this DOE INFUSE project award and our special collaboration with Colorado State University as we work to accelerate the commercialization of laser-based fusion energy. By cooperating with Professor Menoni and her group at CSU, Blue Laser Fusion will have access to world-class optics expertise and capabilities to advance our OEC laser innovations.”
Professor Carmen Menoni describes, “In this INFUSE project we will fabricate and evaluate interference coatings to create world-class mirrors to support the BLF optical enhancement cavity platform and develop characterization tools to evaluate the reflectivity and thermal performance of the mirrors. The BLF OEC enables a new performance regime for high energy pulsed lasers that can be used to drive fusion reactions.”
Blue Laser Fusion was founded in 2022 by Dr. Shuji Nakamura, 2014 Nobel Laureate in Physics and solid-state lighting pioneer, whose high efficiency LED lighting inventions have helped transform the world by substantially reducing the global energy power consumption. BLF’s enabling technology innovations include a high efficiency, cost effective megajoule class pulse energy laser with a fast repetition rate, coupled with a high gain fuel target to achieve commercial fusion. BLF is a corporate partner in the US DOE RISE HUB for fusion and is on the industrial council for the US DOE FIRE Collaboratives led by General Atomics on fusion targets and by Idaho National Labs on
fusion reactor design.
For additional information of DOE INFUSE program, see: https://infuse.ornl.gov.
About Blue Laser Fusion, Inc.
Blue Laser Fusion Inc. (BLF) is a leading fusion energy company based in Santa Barbara, CA with offices in Silicon Valley and Tokyo, Japan. The company is commercializing a proprietary and novel laser fusion technology to achieve the world’s first carbon-free, on demand, renewable, clean energy generation and to accelerate a transition to an electrified world. BLF aims to commercialize a GW scale reactor to provide power to the grid to meet the acute and increasing demand for clean energy for data centers and to support the AI revolution, for semiconductor chip fabrication facilities and chemical and steel production plants, as well as for electric vehicles and homes. The company has a comprehensive IP portfolio with more than 100 patents and applications internationally.
To learn more, please visit: www.bluelaserfusion.com
CONTACT:
Ayako Muraoka
Administrative Assistant
ayako@bluelaserfusion.com
SOURCE: Blue Laser Fusion Inc.
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