About LIFT

IFE Power Plant

Our Mission: Accelerating the Fusion Energy Revolution

The Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology (LIFT) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is committed to turning scientific breakthroughs into practical solutions by connecting the Lab’s world-class scientific and engineering capabilities with industry to make fusion energy deployment a reality.

By strengthening the innovation ecosystem, LIFT seeks to further advance United States leadership in fusion science and energy security by accelerating public-private partnerships, driving science and technology innovation, and supporting the development of commercial fusion power plants—paving the way for a safe, abundant, and virtually limitless energy future.

The U.S. holds a unique advantage in fusion science, as demonstrated by repeated ignition at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility. LIFT is committed to expanding this lead by enabling collaborative platforms that de-risk fusion technology and speed its path to market.

A Partnership Portal

The establishment of LIFT creates a coherent portal to provide scientifically backed, impartial, up-to-date information on fusion science and engineering to inform industry and investors. The portal will also facilitate partnerships with dedicated and knowledgeable staff, and new mechanisms for agreements.

Partner With Us

Catalyzing the Fusion Energy Economy

LIFT is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is emerging as a hotspot for fusion innovation. And thanks to more than seven decades of federal investment in basic research, LLNL is home to a suite of capabilities that spur innovations in fusion science and technology, ranging from large-scale experimental facilities to high performance computing and advanced manufacturing.

This makes LIFT uniquely positioned to help bridge the gap between research and functional power plants by building collaborative frameworks supporting both startups and established companies with resources, expertise, and facilities to identify and tackle key scientific hurdles while leaning on LLNL’s historical expertise to support the development of infrastructure, supply chain, and talent.

LIFT Leadership

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  Tammy Ma
  Director, LIFT

In April 2024, LIFT Director Tammy Ma shared her vision for a fusion energy future on the TED main stage in Vancouver.

Tammy Ma is the director of Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology (LIFT) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), which is enabling the U.S. national, technical, and community leadership needed to build the foundational science and technology for fusion energy and support the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE’s) vision for commercial of fusion energy, informed by LLNL’s repeated achievement of fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility.

Ma was previously the lead for the LIFT’s predecessor, the Laboratory’s Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) Institutional Initiative. Ma joined LLNL in 2010. In previous roles, Ma led many inertial confinement fusion experiments on NIF, developed new x-ray diagnostics and analysis, and chaired the Lab-Wide Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program funding highly innovative research.

Ma currently serves as a member of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, advising the DOE Office of Science on complex scientific and technological issues related to fusion energy and plasma research. In 2022, Ma chaired the Inertial Fusion Energy Basic Research Needs Workshop on behalf of DOE.

She is the recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Research from the American Physical Society, and a DOE Early Career Research Award. Ma earned her B.S. from Caltech and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego.

Have questions or want to learn more? Email us at liftinfo [at] llnl.gov (LIFTinfo[at]llnl[dot]gov).