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ElectricityGrid Batteries & Fusion Ignition
Twenty flashcards on the giant batteries already on the U.S. grid and the laser fusion experiments that reached ignition at Lawrence Livermore.
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20 cards
- How much battery storage capacity did the U.S. power system have at the end of 2025?
- 43.6 gigawatts (GW).
- How much battery capacity was added in the first six months of 2026?
- Another 8.3 GW, reaching nearly 52 GW of nameplate capacity.
- How fast did U.S. utility-scale battery capacity grow over the last three years?
- An average of 70% per year.
- How much battery storage was added in 2025, and how much is planned for 2026?
- A record 15 GW in 2025; developers plan 24 GW in 2026.
- Which state leads the battery capacity planned for 2026?
- Texas, with 53%, or 12.9 GW.
- What does the Bellefield Solar and Energy Storage Farm combine?
- 500 MW of solar photovoltaics with 500 MW of storage; it began operating in December 2025.
- Which Florida plant is the second-largest U.S. battery storage project?
- The Manatee Solar Energy Center, with 409 MW of battery storage, operating since 2021.
- What battery type do most U.S. utility-scale storage systems use?
- Lithium-ion, for its high cycle efficiency and fast response.
- What is the difference between a storage system's power capacity and energy capacity?
- Power capacity is the maximum output, in watts; energy capacity is the total it can store or discharge, in watthours.
- When and where was fusion ignition first achieved?
- On December 5, 2022, at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- How much energy went in and came out in the December 5, 2022 shot?
- 2.05 MJ of laser energy on target produced 3.15 MJ of fusion energy.
- What records did NIF set on April 7, 2025?
- A yield of 8.6 MJ from 2.08 MJ of laser energy, a target gain of 4.13.
- How many times had NIF achieved ignition by June 20, 2026, and with what yield that day?
- That shot was the 11th ignition, with a yield of 7.9 MJ.
- How many laser beams does NIF fire at its target?
- 192 laser beams, focused on a target about the size of a pencil eraser.
- How big is the National Ignition Facility?
- The size of a sports stadium; three football fields could fit inside.
- What temperatures and pressures does NIF create in the target?
- More than 180 million degrees Fahrenheit and more than 100 billion Earth atmospheres.
- What fuel sits inside a NIF ignition target?
- Deuterium and tritium, two forms of hydrogen, in a capsule held inside a cylinder called a hohlraum.
- How is fusion different from the fission used in today's nuclear plants?
- Fusion joins light nuclei such as hydrogen; fission splits heavy nuclei such as uranium.
- What other name did DOE give the ignition milestone?
- Scientific energy breakeven: more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it.
- Why do fusion researchers focus on deuterium-tritium reactions?
- They release large amounts of energy and happen at lower temperatures than reactions of other elements.
Official sources
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Today in Energy: Battery storage capacity averaged 70% growth over the last three years (August 7, 2026)
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Today in Energy: New U.S. electric generating capacity expected to reach a record high in 2026 (February 20, 2026)
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Electricity explained: Energy storage for electricity generation
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), National Ignition Facility
Achieving Fusion Ignition
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
What Is the National Ignition Facility?
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
How NIF Works
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
DOE National Laboratory Makes History by Achieving Fusion Ignition (December 13, 2022)
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science
DOE Explains... Fusion Reactions
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