Manufacturing for the Fusion Industry: Targets

260 E Main St suite 6000Rochester, NY

Friday, Mar 13 from 9 am to 3 pm EDT

REGISTER HERE: Manufacturing for the Fusion Industry: Targets Tickets, Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 9:00 AM | Eventbrite

What are targets?

Targets have been around as long as there have been lasers. They are a small, high-value consumable made via precision machine and extensive quality assurance. In 2026, there were 32 organizations who needed to buy targets and only one commercial US supplier. Because they are often customized, many groups make their own targets, but they would prefer to buy parts or whole units from lower-cost commercial suppliers. Recently, targets have been a major focus area because of the more than 2 billion dollars invested into new startups that need to buy more targets. This has created extra market demand for this unique product. The University of Rochester has been marking targets since the 1970’s and consequently our region has a unique pool of talent for manufacturing these items. But, in 2022, the Department of Energy's "Inertial Fusion Energy Basic Research Needs" report assessed that the technical readiness level (TRL) and manufacturing readiness (MRL) of fusion targets was between a 1 and 2. Inertial fusion energy will never be able to scale without targets and if IFE was ever realized, there would be a market for licensing, loading and the mass-production of these consumables valued in the tens of billions.

What is happening in the fusion industry?

The Fusion Industry has now raised over 14+ billion in private investment and has over 56 startups. There are over 3,000 people working inside these startups with over 10,000 people touching this supply chain. These firms spent $436 million on external buys in 2024 with spending expected to be higher in 2025. The current world record for fusion energy is 69 MW on a 100 MJ driver, but the company Commonwealth Fusion Systems is closing in on finishing their SPARC machine in Devons, MA. There is a large body of literature arguing that SPARC will generate net power for the first time in Human History.

How can Western New York create jobs in this?

The fusion energy supply chain could be a massive economic opportunity for companies in the WNY region. Many companies that manufacture stuff including precision optics, vacuum systems, cryogenic hardware, power electronics and other products could find new customers in this space. The goal of this first workshop is to learn more about how to manufacture critical supply chain components for fusion startups. MIT assessed that fusion energy could create trillions in economic value over the next several decades.

What actions are governments taking?

States have taken steps to secure positions in this emerging field - including fusion-focused legislation in Tennessee, New Jersey, Washington, Wisconsin and Massachusetts. Over the Summer of 2025, New Mexico raised $750 million in a state-issued bond and is using the funds to lure fusion startups. In October, San Diego Economic Development Authority projected that fusion could bring 40,000 jobs and $125 billion in economic impact to California and on October 4th, California signed legislation to support Fusion Energy. In 2025, Duke Energy and the Virigina Governor’s office announced plans for a fusion plant outside Richmond, VA. National governments are also taking significate actions. In October, Germany committed $2 billion dollars to fusion over the next 4 years. There have been steps taken in Japan, Korea, Bavaria, China, France, the UK, the European Commission and other countries. There is now a call in Congress to inject $10 billion into the US Fusion Energy Ecosystem to kickstart US activity.

What is the goal of this workshop?

This workshop will focus on how to Manufacture Targets for the Fusion Industry. We seek to help break knowledge on this topic out of silos and into small manufactures in Western New York. We also seek to answer a series of questions:

• What do we need to manufacture to make a useful target?

• How big of a market is this? How large could it ultimate become?

• How could we mass manufacture fusion targets?

• What machines or manufacturing processes are required?

• What local companies can perform this work?

• What could New York State do to support this supply chain?

Who is speaking at the workshop?

The lineup for the March 13th workshop will include:

• Dr. Tom Mehlhorn. Dr. Tom Mehlhorn has over 45 years of expertise in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). He teaches Fusion Reactor Technology in the Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of Michigan and is an advisor/consultant to three private fusion companies. He is a fellow of the AAAS, APS, IEEE, and ANS and the recipient of several awards. He headed the Plasma Physics Division at the Naval Research Lab from 2009-2019 and worked at Sandia National Labs from 1978-2009.

• Dr. Etosha Cave. Dr. Etosha Cave is the current Interim Managing Director of Activate NY and the co-founder of Twelve. Twelve has raised over $800 million in their mission to make fuels anywhere in the world from Air. She holds a PhD from Stanford University and is originally from Houston Texas. Dr. Cave will be discussing her proposal to establish a manufacturing organization supporting fusion energy. She was a 2018 winner of Vanity Fair's Women of Color Diversifying Entrepreneurship and selected in 2017 by the Smithsonian as an Innovator to Watch.
• Dr. Matthew J. Moynihan. Dr. Moynihan has been involved in the fusion industry for almost 20 years. He is the author of "How Technological Breakthroughs in Nuclear Fusion Can Conquer Climate Change on Earth" (Nature-Springier, 2023) and holds a PhD focused on manufacturing techniques for NIF-Scale target from the University of Rochester. He was a Senior Nuclear Engineer for the US Navy at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in Pittsburgh and was a Staff Scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
• Dr. Cristina Canavesi, MBA. Dr. Canavesi co-founded Light Top Tech in 2013 out of the University of Rochester - a startup that supplied rapid optical characterization tools to the medical industry.  She holds a Ph.D. in Optics from The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, a Master in Technical Entrepreneurship and Management from Simon School of Business, and an MBA from Simon School of Business. Dr. Canavesi was a Fulbright scholar (2007/2008). She was awarded the SPIE Optical Design and Engineering Scholarship (2012) and received the 2013 Institute of Optics Student Award for Excellence at the University of Rochester. Dr. Canavesi was a 2019 Millennials in Manufacturing Awardee and was selected for Inspiring Fifty Italy 2021.
• Mr. Jack Hurley, MBA. Mr. Jack Hurley, MBA, has worked in technology leadership roles at Verizon, General Electric and Siemens overseeing customer engagement, contracts, cutting-edge technology maturation, and commercialization.  At Siemens, Mr. Hurley was responsible for establishing and managing $40 million in strategic research collaborations with leading U.S. universities on behalf of the global Siemens sectors, including in Energy, Industry, and Healthcare.  He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an Electrical Engineering degree from Villanova University and served as an officer in the US Navy.

Where will the event be?

The event will be at the NextCorp startup incubator in downtown Rochester. The address will be 260 East Main Street Suite 6000. (on the 6th Floor) in Rochester, NY, 14604. There is metered street parking and parking is available at St. Joseph's Garage (72 N Clinton Ave #1408, Rochester, NY 14604). Like the last event there will be light refreshments. Space is limited, so get your tickets now.