April 26-27, 2022

San Francisco, CA

The ARPA-E Fusion Annual Meeting featured ARPA-E’s entire active fusion R&D portfolio, spanning 5 programs (OPEN 2018Exploratory Topic in Fusion DiagnosticsBETHEGAMOW, and OPEN 2021). Teams provided updates on the technical progress of 40+ project teams through poster presentations and select oral presentations centered around specific themes. In addition, the meeting featured timely and important presentations and discussions around the topics of (1) public-private partnerships to accelerate fusion RD&D, and (2) international perspectives on social acceptance for new energy technologies.


Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

(All times local to San Francisco, California)

(Subject to updates)

Start Time 

Event 

Location 

8:00 AM 

Badge Pick-Up, Coffee, and Networking 

 

Italian Room  

9:00 AM 

Opening remarks 

Dr. Jennifer Gerbi, Acting Director, ARPA-E (virtual) 

Dr. Geraldine Richmond, Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, Department of Energy 

Grand Ballroom 

9:10 AM 

Meeting Overview and Objectives 

Dr. Scott Hsu, Program Director, ARPA-E

FES Perspective 

Mr. Daniel Clark, Program Manager, DOE Fusion Energy Sciences 

Grand Ballroom 

 

9:30 AM 

Fusion T2M Overview 

Mr. Sam Wurzel, Technology to Market Advisor, ARPA-E

Grand Ballroom 

9:45 AM 

Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) Perspective: Burning plasma and ignition threshold on NIF, and what it means for aggressive IFE development 

Dr. Tammy Ma, Program Element Leader for High-Intensity Laser High Energy Density Science, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Grand Ballroom 

 

10:00 AM 

Performer Technical Highlights #1: IFE “Mini-Program” within BETHE (2 x 10 minutes + 5 Q&A) 

Dr. Steve Obenschain, Research Physicist, Naval Research Laboratory

Dr. Valeri Goncharov, Distinguished Scientist and Theory Division Director, University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics

Grand Ballroom 

 

10:25 AM 

Break 

 

10:45 AM 

Performer Technical Highlights #2: Example of a Public-Private Partnership (2 x 10 minutes + 5 Q&A) 

Dr. Brian Nelson, CTO, Zap Energy

Dr. Glen Wurden, Magnetized Plasma Team Leader, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Grand Ballroom 

 

11:10 AM 

Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) Lightning Round (10 min each) 

Grand Ballroom 

 

12:10 PM 

Lunch: A buffet will be in the Italian Room, with seating in the Grand Ballroom 

 

Italian Room 

1:15 PM 

Fusion PPP Breakout Discussions 

Group 1: Remain in the Grand Ballroom 

Group 2: Elizabethan Room A 

Group 3: Elizabethan Room B 

Group 4: Elizabethan Room C 

Group 5: Elizabethan Room D 

Grand Ballroom 

 

2:15 PM 

Break 

 

2:30 PM 

Breakout Readouts and Further Discussion 

Grand Ballroom 

3:10 PM 

Outreach and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) 

Dr. Arturo Dominguez, Head of Science Education, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Prof. Steffi Diem, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin 

Grand Ballroom 

 

3:30 PM 

BETHE Performer Technical Highlights #3: Return of the Mirror (2 x 10 minutes + 5 Q&A) 

Prof. Carlos Romero-Talamas, Associate Professor, Graduate Program Director University of Maryland Baltimore County

Prof. Cary Forest, Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison 

Grand Ballroom 

 

4:00 PM 

Performer Technical Poster Session and Networking. Cash bar. 

BETHE, OPEN 2018, OPEN 2021 Concepts  

California West 

6:00 PM 

Adjourn Day 1 

 

 

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

(All times local to San Francisco, California) 

(Subject to updates)

Start Time 

Event 

Location 

8:30 AM 

Badge Pick-Up, Coffee, and Networking 

Italian Room  

9:00 AM 

Welcome to Day 2, and ARPA-E Recruitment Pitch  

Dr. Robert Ledoux, Program Director, ARPA-E

Grand Ballroom 

9:05 AM 

MFE Perspective: REBCO High-Temperature Superconductors – Why They are a Big Deal for Commercial Fusion 

Dr. Robert Mumgaard, CEO, Commonwealth Fusion Systems 

Grand Ballroom 

9:20 AM 

Performer Technical Highlights #4: HTS (3 x 10 mins + 5 Q&A) 

Ms. Elle Allen, Engineering R&D Project Manager, Commonwealth Fusion System 

Prof. David Anderson, Stellarator Engineering, Type One Energy

Prof. Venkat Selvamanickam, M.D. Anderson Chair Professor, University of Houston

Grand Ballroom 

 

9:55 AM 

Break 

 

10:10 AM 

Introduction to the Social Acceptance “Mini-Workshop” 

Dr. Seth Hoedl, President & Chief Science Officer, Post Road Foundation

Grand Ballroom 

10:20 AM 

Social acceptance through participatory co-design (virtual) 

Prof. Jessica Smith, Associate Professor, Engineering, Design, and Society Division Colorado School of Mines

Grand Ballroom 

10:40 AM 

Achieving widespread public support for a self-limiting mosquito project in the Florida Keys (virtual) 

Ms. Meredith Fensom, Head of Global Public Affairs, Oxitec

Grand Ballroom 

11:00 AM 

Panel Discussion of International Views on Energy and Fusion (virtual) 

Moderator: Dr. Seth Hoedl 

Panelists: 

Mr. Shah Nawaz Ahmad, Senior Advisor, India, Middle East, and South East Asia, World Nuclear Association 

Prof. Jun Arima, Project Professor, Graduate School of Public Policies, University of Tokyo 

Mr. Saliem Fakir, Executive Director, The African Climate Foundation 

Ms. Valérie Faudon, Executive Director for the French Nuclear Energy Association (Sfen) and a Vice-President for the European Nuclear Society (ENS) 

Mr. Julián Gadano, Nuclear Director, Fundacíon Argentina Global 

Ms. Crystal Pruitt, former Deputy Director, Office of Clean Energy Equity, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities 

Prof. Jürgen Scheffran, Professor, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg 

Grand Ballroom 

12:00 PM 

Introduction to Safeguards (virtual) 

Ms. Laura Rockwood, Director, Open Nuclear Network 

Grand Ballroom 

12:20 PM 

Lunch: A buffet will be in the Italian Room, with seating in the Grand Ballroom 

Italian Room 

1:20 PM 

Social Acceptance Breakout Discussions 

Group 1: Remain in the Grand Ballroom 

Group 2: Elizabethan Room A 

Group 3: Elizabethan Room B 

Group 4: Elizabethan Room C 

Group 5: Elizabethan Room D 

Grand Ballroom 

 

2:00 PM 

Performer Technical Highlights #5: GAMOW (3 x 10 minutes + 5 Q&A) 

Dr. Josh Blatz, Plasma Physics Tech. Lead, Phoenix, a wholly owned subsidiary of SHINE

Dr. Dalong Zhang, Materials Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Prof. Colin Wolden, Professor, Colorado School of Mines

Grand Ballroom 

 

2:35 PM 

Social Acceptance Breakout Readouts 

 

Grand Ballroom 

3:05 PM 

Break 

 

3:20 PM 

Performer Technical Highlights #6: OPEN2018 / BETHE (3 x 10 minutes + 5 Q&A) 

Dr. Derek Sutherland, CEO, CTFusion

Dr. Michael Zarnstorff, Chief Scientist, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Dr. Samuel Langendorf, Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Grand Ballroom 

3:55 PM 

Performer Technical Poster Session and Networking (Cash Bar) 

GAMOW, Fusion Diagnostics, and OPEN 2021 Enabling Materials/Technology 

California West 

5:50 PM 

Adjourn Day 2 

 


Poster Information: Day 1, April 26th, 2022

Prime Recipient 

Project Title 

Principal Investigator or Designee 

Program 

NK Labs 

Conditions for high-yield muon catalyzed fusion

Ara Knaian 

BETHE 

Commonwealth Fusion Systems 

Pulsed high temperature superconducting central solenoid for revolutionizing tokamaks

Robert Mumgaard 

BETHE 

University of Wisconsin 

An HTS axisymmetric magnetic mirror on a faster path to lower cost fusion energy

Cary Forest 

BETHE 

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 

Stellarator simplification using permanent magnets

David Gates 

BETHE 

Type One Energy 

Non-planar capability HTS magnet coil with additive-manufactured components

David Anderson 

BETHE 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  

Radio frequency tools for breakthrough fusion concepts

Mark Stowell 

BETHE 

SapientAI 

Data-enabled fusion technology

Craig Michoski 

BETHE 

Zap Energy 

Sheared flow stabilized z-pinch performance improvement

Brian Nelson 

BETHE 

University of Rochester 

A simulation resource team for innovative fusion concepts

Petros Tzeferacos 

BETHE 

University of Maryland, Baltimore County 

Centrifugal Mirror Fusion Experiment

Carlos Romero-Talamas 

BETHE 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

Target formation and integrated experiments for plasma-jet driven magneto-inertial fusion

Samuel Langendorf 

BETHE 

Virginia Tech 

Capability team in theory, modeling, and validation for a range of innovative fusion concepts using high-fidelity moment-kinetic models

Manaure Francisquez 

BETHE 

Naval Research Laboratory 

Very Attractive Approach to Laser Fusion Energy - Deep UV ArF Enabling Smaller Lower Cost Power Plants

Matthew Wolford 

BETHE 

University of Rochester 

Advanced IFE target designs with next-generation laser technologies

Valeri Goncharov 

BETHE 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

A Suite of Plasma Diagnostics for FuZe at Zap Energy

Glen Wurden 

BETHE 

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 

Costing study for ARPA-E fusion portfolio projects/concept 

Michael Zarnstorff 

BETHE 

CTFusion 

HIT-TD: plasma driver technology demonstration for economical fusion power plants

Derek Sutherland 

OPEN 2018 

Princeton Fusion Systems 

Next-generation PFRC

Michael Paluszek 

OPEN 2018 

Polymath 

Longer wavelength lasers for inertial fusion energy with laser-plasma instability control: machine learning optimum Spike Trains of Uneven Duration and Delay (STUD Pulses)

Bedros Afeyan 

OPEN 2021 


Poster Information: Day 2, April 27th, 2022

Prime Recipient 

Project Title 

Principal Investigator or Designee 

Program 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

A portable diagnostic package for spectroscopic measurement of key plasma parameters in fusion energy devices

Nischal Kafle 

Fusion ET 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

A portable optical Thomson scattering system

Clement Goyon 

Fusion ET 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

Absolute neutron rate measurement and non-thermal/thermonuclear fusion differentiation

Drew Higginson 

Fusion ET 

University of Rochester 

LLE diagnostic resource team for the advancement of innovative fusion concepts

Jonathan Davies 

Fusion ET 

University of California, Davis 

Electron density profile measurements using USPR

Calvin Domier 

Fusion ET 

Caltech 

Diagnostics for imaging and characterizing hard x-rays from fusion relevant experiments

Paul Bellan 

Fusion ET 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Fusion Energy Reactor Models Integrator (FERMI) 

Vittorio Badalassi 

GAMOW 

Savannah River National Laboratory 

Direct LiT Electrolysis in a Metallic Lithium Fusion Blanket

Process intensification scale-up of direct LiT electrolysis

Brenda Garcia-Diaz 

GAMOW 

Colorado School of Mines 

Interfacial-engineered membranes for efficient tritium extraction

Colin Wolden 

GAMOW 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

Microstructure Optimization & Novel Processing Develop-ment of ODS Steels for Fusion Environments (MONDO-FE)

Dalong Zhang 

GAMOW 

University of California, San Diego 

Renewable low-Z wall for fusion reactors with built-in tritium recovery

Eric Hollmann 

GAMOW 

Savannah River National Laboratory 

EM-enhanced HyPOR loop for fast fusion fuel cycles

George Larsen 

GAMOW 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Plasma facing component innovations by advanced manufacturing and design 

Yutai Kato 

GAMOW 

Stony Brook 

Year 1 of 3: Composite Shielding for Compact Fusion Systems

ENHANCED Shield: a critical materials technology enabling compact superconducting tokamaks

Irradiation, Characterization, Aging, and Data

David Sprouster 

GAMOW 

Princeton Fusion Systems 

Wide band gap semiconductor amplifiers for plasma heating and control:

     - Poster 1

     - Poster 2

Michael Paluszek 

GAMOW 

Shine/Phoenix 

Application of Plasma-Window Technology to Enable an Ultra-High-Flux DT Neutron Source

Joshua Blatz

GAMOW 

University of Houston 

Advanced HTS conductors customized for fusion

Venkat (Selva) Selvamanickam 

GAMOW 

University of California, Los Angeles 

AMPERE - Advanced Materials for Plasma-Exposed Robust Electrodes

     - Project Overview

     - Technical Overview

Richard Wirz 

GAMOW 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Advance castable nanostructured alloys for first-wall/blanket applications

Ying Yang 

GAMOW 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

Advanced manuf. of high-entropy alloys as cost-effective plasma facing components for fusion power generation

Osman El Atwani 

OPEN 2021 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  

Liquid Immersion Blanket: Robust Accountancy (LIBRA)

Dennis Whyte 

OPEN 2021