World’s most powerful laser will be sextillion times brighter than the Sun
Powerful lasers are helping us unravel the mysteries of the unverse and do great things, and now they're staggeringly powerful.
Key takeaways
- A single pulse from the laser will deliver more power than the entire UK national grid, in a blast lasting a trillionth of a second on a minuscule target.
- Construction of the laser will take six years to complete, creating a number of jobs in the science sector, as well as for designers, engineers and technicians.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2024) 'World’s most powerful laser will be sextillion times brighter than the Sun', 311 Institute, 7 May. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/worlds-most-powerful-laser-will-be-sextillion-times-brighter-than-the-sun/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
The world's most powerful laser, a 20 Petawatt laser monster which will be at least double the power of the world’s next most powerful laser which is at the LLNL facility in the US, will be built in Oxfordshire in the UK thanks to £85m in new funding for the technology.
Scientists are aiming to develop the technology which will be a "million, billion, billion times brighter than the brightest sunlight" in the world.
It is thought the technology will have practical applications in nuclear fusion, renewable energy and batteries.
The most powerful laser currently at the Central Laser Facility in Oxfordshire is the Vulcan, which is used in plasma physics, and the Vulcan 20-20 will have a 20-fold increase in power with eight additional beams, making it the strongest laser in the world.
A single pulse from the laser will deliver more power than the entire UK national grid, in a blast lasting a trillionth of a second on a minuscule target.
Construction of the laser will take six years to complete, creating a number of jobs in the science sector, as well as for designers, engineers and technicians.
Professor Mark Thomson, executive chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which provided the funding, said: "The Central Laser Facility has been a driving force behind discoveries that have advanced our understanding of diverse areas from the fundamental properties of matter under extreme conditions to the formation of stars and planets."
Professor John Collier, director of the Central Laser Facility, added: "Vulcan has been the flagship laser at CLF for many years, and widely recognised internationally as a pioneering facility.
"Over the past 40 years, it has made important contributions to plasma physics research and hundreds of PhD students have been trained at the facility.
"It is timely for Vulcan to undergo its next major upgrade, making it ready to serve a new generation of scientists, ensuring the UK retains its leadership role in this field."
The current Vulcan project helped map how COVID infects and damages cells during the pandemic, as well as developing new techniques for security screening in airports.
Science minister George Freeman said: "Re-establishing Britain as home to the world's most powerful laser is an exciting opportunity to explore the unexplored in astronomy and physics, stride towards new clean energy sources for the good of our planet and much more. By investing £85m to give our research community the edge in leading crucial scientific discoveries, we are also delivering hundreds of highly skilled jobs in science and engineering that boost the UK science sector and grow our economy."
What this means for your organisation
Public money sets the timetable.
The £85m comes from the Science and Technology Facilities Council. The Vulcan 20-20 will take six years to build. Any firm hoping to use it should plan around that schedule.
Fusion and batteries may gain a tool.
The source says the laser is thought to have uses in nuclear fusion, renewable energy and batteries. Our data rates petawatt lasers at TRL 7 with a Watch action. Fusion baseload power is a Watch item, with wide use expected around 2050.
Skills are the nearer prize.
The build will create work for designers, engineers and technicians. Vulcan has trained hundreds of PhD students over 40 years. Energy and engineering firms should build links with that talent pool early.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Which of our energy plans depend on fusion or battery progress?
- Could we work with the Central Laser Facility during the six-year build?
- Where will we find the engineers and technicians this project will draw on?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Powerful lasers are helping us unravel the mysteries of the unverse and do great things, and now they're staggeringly powerful.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 7 May 2024. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2024). World’s most powerful laser will be sextillion times brighter than the Sun. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/worlds-most-powerful-laser-will-be-sextillion-times-brighter-than-the-sun/
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