Colorado State University Breaks Ground on Powerful New Laser Research Facility on the Foothills Campus

By Josh Rhoten | Colorado State University SOURCE

Construction activity will start this month on a powerful new laser research facility located on Colorado State University’s Foothills Campus. Set to come online in mid-2026, the facility is the combined result of 40 years of laser development research at CSU in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Sciences program in the Office of Science and a strategic $150 million public-private partnership with industry leader Marvel Fusion that launched in 2023. 

The new building will be known as the Advanced Technology Lasers for Applications and Science (ATLAS) Facility. A major topic of research there will be laser-driven fusion as a viable clean energy source. CSU President Amy Parsons hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility last week that included comments from Geraldine Richmond, under secretary for science and innovation at the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, and Marvel Fusion CEO Moritz von der Linden, among other CSU leaders.

Fusion energy is a form of power generation that aims to recreate the process that powers the sun by fusing atomic nuclei together. If successful, laser-driven fusion energy promises to safely generate practically unlimited, sustainable, carbon-free energy. When finished, the facility will feature an upgraded version of an existing ultrahigh power laser developed at CSU in combination with two new lasers provided by Marvel Fusion. The new structure will be located near existing laser research-focused buildings and will house related labs and offices. Taken together, the project is a major expansion of space and capabilities for the university. 

The ATLAS Facility will be a unique cluster of high-intensity, high-repetition-rate lasers that can be configured to fire simultaneously at a single fusion target. That burst will deliver nearly seven petawatts of power – over 5,000 times the electrical generation capacity of the U.S. – into a focal spot roughly the width of a human hair for approximately 100 quadrillionths of a second. The trio of ultra-high-power lasers can also be used independently and in other combinations to study questions beyond fusion energy, including key topics in fundamental research.

Parsons said the university has been at the forefront of laser research for many years, and the facility would support leadership in this space for many more to come. 

“As a top institution recognized both for research and for sustainability, CSU is a fitting home for this facility,” Parsons said. “We have been a leader in laser research for decades, and our faculty are advancing critical technologies. This new facility will house one of the most powerful lasers in the world and establishes CSU as a nexus for laser fusion research.”

Beyond fusion and basic science research, the ATLAS Facility will also support interdisciplinary work on topics like medicine, where lasers could be used to deposit energy in a very localized region for tumor treatment. Other potential research at the facility includes microchip lithography and design and detailed X-ray imaging of rapidly moving objects, such as airplane engine turbines in full motion. The facility will also broadly support fundamental science research. 

The combined existing and new facilities will now be known collectively as the Advanced Laser for Extreme Photonics (ALEPH) Center.

Undersecretary Richmond highlighted the DOE’s extensive partnership with CSU around laser research in her comments at the event – particularly through the Fusion Energy Sciences program. The agency recently awarded the university $12.5 million through its LaserNetUS program in addition to another award of $16 million to start an Inertial Fusion Science and Technology hub. Those grants support research using the existing facilities on campus, including upgrades of the high-powered ALEPH laser. The DOE funding also enables outside researchers to access research facilities for free, whether they are working on fusion or any other topic – supporting activity across many key fields.

“I’m excited for the important research through this private-public partnership happening with Marvel Fusion at Colorado State University,” said Richmond. “We are eager to leverage these opportunities. Laser development and experiments fit within our long-term goal of reaching fusion energy, but equally important is uncovering what we will learn in this process that will help us ultimately achieve that goal.”

CSU’s leadership in laser research is primarily due to work by University Distinguished Professors Jorge Rocca and Carmen Menoni. Both are part of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, while Rocca also holds a position in the Department of Physics, and Menoni has a position in the Department of Chemistry. The pair have been leading interdisciplinary research on this topic at the university for years. Their existing and fruitful research partnerships with Marvel Fusion was the key reason the company chose to further invest in the university with the project, said CSU Vice President for Research Cassandra Moseley. 

“CSU is a leader in laser research and technology, which has led us to break ground on a building that will bring that impactful research to the next level,” said Moseley, who also spoke at the groundbreaking. “We celebrate today with the scientists whose teams helped get us to this point and with excitement for the research power and discovery that will take place in this facility.”  

Allen Robinson, dean of the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering, echoed those sentiments and said the new facility is a remarkable step forward for the university in terms of entrepreneurship. 

“We are incredibly proud of the decades of success of professors Rocca and Menoni that is culminating in the construction of this world-class facility,” said Robinson. “This partnership with industry and CSU STRATA is a natural extension of the culture of entrepreneurship and technology transfer that is widespread in the college and at CSU.” 

Robinson added that the exponential growth of laser-based research around the world has resulted in a large and unmet need to prepare the next generation of scientists, technicians, and suppliers within the fusion industry. He said the new facility will address that need by offering both undergraduate and graduate students at CSU a chance for hands-on experience with the latest technology – fulfilling the university’s commitment as a land-grant institution to support workforce development in crucial STEM fields. 

Heike Freund, the chief operating officer of Marvel Fusion, said the company was excited to continue to partner with CSU in this research space. 

“This groundbreaking marks an exciting new chapter in the partnership between Marvel Fusion and Colorado State University as we move forward with constructing a facility that will drive the future of fusion energy,” Freund said. “Fusion energy has the potential to revolutionize the approach to sustainable power, providing a virtually limitless, clean energy source. This collaboration sets CSU and MF at the forefront of cutting-edge research, paving the way for transformative advancements that could redefine global energy solutions.” 

Construction on the project will be managed by Tetrad Corporation with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. serving as the general contractor and SWBR leading design. The 71,000-square-foot facility will feature over 7,500 cubic yards of concrete – including 5-foot-thick shielding walls around the target bay and a three-foot-thick slab below the laser and target bays for vibration isolation. The lab spaces will feature clean rooms up to ISO 6 / Class 1,000, and the HVAC systems will maintain extremely tight temperature and humidity tolerances to keep the laser systems functioning properly.