3 Key Insights - First Light Fusion Unveils FLARE: A Fresh Approach to Fusion
3 Key Insights - First Light Fusion Unveils FLARE: A Fresh Approach to Fusion
Oct 15, 2025
First Light Fusion’s CEO Mark Thomas and Principal Scientist Jonathan Skidmore introduced their latest concept, FLARE—Fusion via Low Power Assembly and Rapid Excitation in our Q&A event on October 9th, 2025. Their discussion spanned the technical leap behind FLARE, new partnership opportunities and the crucial question of tritium production where participants were able to ask them questions, live. Here are three key insights from the Q&A event.
1. Fine-Turning Target Design to Reduce Cost and Complexity
The FLARE concept marks a deliberate shift in fusion priorities: instead of pushing driver (power supply) technology to its limits, First Light’s team has turned their efforts to making the target itself do more of the “heavy lifting.”
As Jonathan Skidmore explained: “We are turning everything down in terms of the driver. We’re asking a lot less of the driver and trying to bring it into known performance envelopes of existing systems. And we’re doing that throughout the whole concept, where possible… We’re reducing the power of the driver and asking more of the target.” By fine-tuning the target design—using multi-layered constructs, high-opacity and high-density pushers and cylindrical geometries—the FLARE approach minimizes overall system cost and complexity. The result? A pathway to commercial fusion based on smart integration and proprietary target technology rather than ever-larger, costlier machines.
2. Opportunities for Partnerships: Both A Fusion Machine & Supply Chain Company
First Light Fusion is redefining its role in the fusion ecosystem. Where they once positioned themselves solely as a supplier of breakthrough target technologies, FLARE marks a shift—now, they plan to operate as both a supplier and a future builder of fusion power plants.
CEO Mark Thomas explained: “The reality is, we are both of those things. When I joined the company this year, I saw incredible capability, and I was really keen to see if we could take that into other sectors... and prove that companies on this journey towards future fusion can also be commercial… So, one thing I will say up front is, this is not First Light building its own machine. It's just an invitation to partner and work together and collaborate on, hopefully, an exciting journey.”
This broadened vision shapes how First Light is seeking partnerships. Their immediate priority is to connect with organizations and facilities specializing in lasers, which are essential to launching the next phase of FLARE. They are also looking for engineering expertise to help with system integration and real-world testing, as well as collaboration with simulation and modelling teams to solve high-gain physics challenges. Much of this work can begin right away with existing technology, so First Light Fusion is actively inviting partners who want to jointly shape the future of fusion energy. Mark also stated,
“Priority One is a laser partner and laser facilities that we can start this journey [with]… There’s a real world of opportunity there as well.”
With FLARE, First Light is openly inviting the fusion community and industry to join in this collaborative, dual-track pursuit—furthering both commercial supply efforts and the realization of a First Light-powered plant.
2. Increasing Tritium Supply by 1.8 – Future Opportunities in Fuel Handling and Waste Management
Securing a reliable tritium supply is a central challenge for any inertial fusion reactor. FLARE’s approach is built around a lithium blanket configuration specifically engineered to both moderate neutrons and maximize the creation of tritium fuel. The system is designed so that high-energy neutrons from the fusion reaction interact directly with a pool of unenriched lithium, eliminating the need for costly enrichment and problematic chemical processing found in other approaches.
Principal Scientist Jonathan Skidmore explained its impact: “The lithium blanket configuration we’re looking at… the tritium breeding ratio that we’re seeing is actually in excess of 1.8… So, in terms of tritium, breeding would be in a very good place. This also does give us a very high neutron capture, sort of in excess of about 96%...”
Thanks to this design, FLARE projects it can generate enough tritium not only to sustain its own operations but also to create a surplus for the wider fusion industry, —a crucial step for a future fusion economy.
And finally…
Mark Thomas closed the session with optimism and a call for collaboration, “We’re not out there to knock other people’s concepts or say that we’ve got everything right here. We just want part of that scene and add value where we can add value… We generally feel we’re on a good pathway now with a lot to offer.”
As FLARE steps into the light, First Light Fusion’s vision, grounded in practical engineering, could help other fusion companies recalculate their business strategies to sustain fusion on mid to long scale timelines.
Premium Subscribers of Fusion Energy Insights can watch the full replay of the Q&A which offers even more insight than the three provided above on the Circle platform.