Fusion power startups find new partners in the defense world

“It turns out that the facility that we’re building also has utility in this world-leading defense application,” Keith LeChein, co-founder and chief technical officer at Pacific Fusion, told TechCrunch recently.

It might sound like a convenient coincidence, but it isn’t one. Defense applications were “always on our mind,” said Carrie von Muench, co-founder and chief operating officer at Pacific Fusion. LeChien, who developed the company’s core technology, previously worked at Sandia National Laboratories, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Fusion power has come a long way since the first weapons scientists dreamt it up decades ago, but its national security applications haven’t been forgotten. Their recent reacquaintance is perhaps overdue, and promises to give willing fusion startups a helpful boost.