US-based Longview Fusion Energy, a firm leveraging the recent fusion breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), has secured a contract with engineering, procurement, and construction specialist Fluor to design what it said could become the world’s first commercial laser fusion power plant.

Longview said the contract meant the commercialisation of fusion energy had taken “a significant step forward”. The contract follows an April 2023 memorandum of understanding with Fluor to support the California-based company’s mission to demonstrate the feasibility of laser fusion technology and deliver it to the commercial market starting in the 2030s.

Longview said no other fusion process has demonstrated energy gain and it is the only fusion energy company using the proven laser fusion approach.