Focused Energy Appoints Dr. Pravesh Patel as Chief Technology Officer

Patel joined the company as Scientific Director in early 2022. Prior to joining Focused Energy he spent over 20 years spearheading major laser and fusion energy research programs at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) – the world’s leading lab in inertial fusion research.

“As CTO, Dr. Patel will play a critical role in developing our technology path, bringing us closer to functional commercial fusion plants,” said Thomas Forner, co-founder and CEO of Focused Energy.

“I am really looking forward to leading the outstanding science and engineering team that have joined Focused Energy over just the last two years. We are well positioned to achieve our ambitions, thanks to a great team, the trust of our stakeholders, and strong strategic partnerships,” added Dr. Pravesh Patel.

At LLNL, Patel played a key role as a Program Element Leader within the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program during the ignition campaign on the National Ignition Facility. In 2021, it successfully produced the world’s first burning and igniting plasma in the laboratory, followed by the groundbreaking demonstration of scientific fusion energy gain greater than one.

He also led LLNL and DOE Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) Programs in advancing target designs and predictive simulation capabilities for high-gain advanced ignition concepts vital for commercial inertial fusion energy (IFE), including the fast ignition inertial confinement fusion scheme pursued at Focused Energy.

He has authored over 275 peer-reviewed articles, was elected a Fellow of the APS in 2013, and is the recipient of the Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award and the Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research.

The US-German company Focused Energy is among the top ten best-funded fusion companies, achieving a funding of around 80 million US-dollars in just two years.