NIF Enhanced Fusion Yield Capability Laser Upgrade Clears Critical Decision-1

On April 24, 2026, the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) announced that the Enhanced Fusion Yield Capability (EYC) project had cleared Critical Decision-1 (CD-1) — the formal federal approval of the Alternative Selection and Cost Range. EYC aims to upgrade NIF's laser energy from the current 2.2 megajoules to 2.6 megajoules (an 18% increase), which NIF scientists expect will enable fusion shots with significantly higher yields beyond the current 5.2 MJ record set in February 2024. CD-1 approval follows successful passage of CD-0 (Definition Phase) and enables engineering design and procurement to formally begin. The EYC upgrade addresses architectural limitations in NIF's current laser system that have constrained peak fusion yield. The project advances both NIF's national security stockpile stewardship mission and clean energy fusion research, and is expected to be operational by the late 2020s. This follows ARPA-E's $135M fusion commitment (April 8) and the UK's £1.3B National Fusion Strategy (April 14), reinforcing broad government commitment to fusion energy in April 2026.