Inertia opens Livermore headquarters for fusion fuel target production

Inertia opened a 50,000-square-foot headquarters in Livermore, California, on July 10, and the site will house the world’s first fusion fuel target factory alongside its high-energy laser system. The move took six months, from an empty industrial floor to an operational fusion manufacturing and research center.

Inside the building, Inertia has already set up a fuel-target manufacturing laboratory and a high-precision metrology area built around the tight tolerances required for inertial fusion energy targets. Testing is underway on target injection, tracking and engagement systems, while additional labs are being commissioned to evaluate resilient optics and semiconductor laser diodes for a compact prototype laser system aimed at lowering the cost of a future power plant design.

The Livermore site puts Inertia a short distance from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where the first fusion ignition was demonstrated at the National Ignition Facility in 2022. Inertia is working to turn that result into repeatable hardware, and the partnership is being managed through the Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology, or LIFT, which is intended to connect the lab’s capabilities with industry.

That partnership, announced April 14, included two Strategic Partnership Projects, a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement and licensing rights to a portfolio of nearly 200 LLNL patents covering inertial fusion technology. Inertia’s agreement gives it access to foundational inventions as it works on both the Thunderwall laser system and a production line for mass-manufacturing fusion fuel targets.

Inertia was founded in 2024. The company announced a $450 million Series A round on February 11, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from GV, Modern Capital and Threshold Ventures. This year it recruited leaders from Apple, Corning, Halliburton, Kairos, Edmund Optics and Waymo.