Laser Fusion for a Sustainable Future

SCHOTT is advancing innovations in specialty glass that promote a more sustainable future and is well on its way to achieving climate neutrality by 2030.

As part of the UN’s International Year of Glass, Dr. Matthias Müller, Executive Vice President of R&D and New Ventures at SCHOTT, addressed the National Day of Glass Conference in Washington, D.C. on how innovative glass components promote new, clean energy sources and help fight climate change.

Amid rising prices and supply imbalances, sustainable utilities have become an increasingly important global issue. Out of its R&D lab in Duryea, Pennsylvania, SCHOTT is addressing this need by developing advanced laser glass—a core component in replicating the sun’s nuclear fusion here on Earth to provide affordable, safe, clean, and carbon-free energy.

In addition to providing laser glass for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL), the company is also advancing the development of laser glasses for new systems like the one currently being designed at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester. This will likely be the next institution to build a large laser system, which will use SCHOTT glass to accelerate fusion energy innovations in line with the White House’s vision for commercial fusion energy.

“This conference brings together some of the leading minds across government and industry to address societal challenges, and SCHOTT has the experience and reaches across a range of sectors to set new industry standards,” Dr. Müller said. “Specialty glass has the power to support new energy solutions that are more sustainable, and we have just scratched the surface of what is possible.”

SCHOTT has also taken on ambitious projects like developing a technology to heat energy-intensive tanks without using fossil fuels and using its glass-ceramic powder in solid-state ion conductors, the next generation of high-performance batteries that will extend the range of electric cars by 30% and reduce charging time by half.

Developing new applications is how this leading specialty glass company shares its passion for glass and contributes to science and technology. The experts at SCHOTT have a long history of creating innovative products like ultra-thin flexible glass, glass-ceramics, pharmaceutical glass solutions, and optical glass.

SCHOTT is very pleased to bring the international community together to celebrate the contributions of glass to society. The National Day of Glass is among three International Year of Glass events SCHOTT is sponsoring, including the UN IYOG Opening Ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, which took place in February, and the 26th International Congress on Glass in Berlin, Germany from July 3-8, 2022.

Source and Images: www.schott.com