General Fusion Selects Bertin Technologies to Design Plasma Diagnostics for LM26 Fusion Machine

General Fusion, an international leader in the development of Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology, has selected Bertin Technologies to support the design of key diagnostics for the company’s Lawson Machine 26 (LM26). Bertin Technologies’ globally recognized experts in optical systems are contributing their expertise to a new, transformative fusion demonstration, paving the way for commercial fusion energy.

At its Canadian headquarters, General Fusion is building LM26 to achieve the technical milestones required to progress the company’s MTF technology to the next phase of commercialization. With LM26, General Fusion is on track to achieve fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius by 2025 and progress towards scientific breakeven equivalent by 2026.

Bertin Technologies is an industry leader in the delivery of complex optical systems for large-scale fusion machines. Bertin Technologies’ work with ITER – the world’s largest fusion research machine – spans 15 years. The company’s systems provide real-time measurement of plasma density at ITER and important plasma analysis at the Laser Mégajoule inertial fusion program in France. Bertin Technologies has also designed systems for Fusion for Energy in Spain and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in the United States.

To prove the performance of General Fusion’s ground-breaking fusion machine, Bertin Technologies will design a custom optical system of high-precision mirrors and lenses for Thomson Scattering. Thomson Scattering is an industry-standard method for extracting critical measurements of plasma density and temperature during compression in fusion machines.

General Fusion’s LM26 fast-tracks the company’s progress to deliver commercial fusion energy to the grid by the early to mid-2030s. Supporting the diagnostics program for a leading fusion demonstration program in the private fusion industry is a significant milestone for Bertin Technologies. The team’s work with General Fusion highlights the critical role of plasma diagnostics in propelling commercial fusion technology forward and aligning with global aspirations for sustainable energy solutions.