We’re thrilled to share that our latest research paper has been published: Coherent beam combining strategies for high-energy and high-repetition rate lasers dedicated to inertial nuclear fusion applications Pierre Lebegue, Marie Froidevaux, Jonas Benjamin Ohland, Cyril Rapeneau, Doina Badarau, Joanna de Sousa, Loïc Meignien, Ivan Doudet, Nolan Chan, Benoit Wattellier, Patrick Audebert, Dimitris[…]

Laser Engineers and Researchers teamed up for building the next generation of beam stabilization systems. The THRILL project continues to advance the frontier of adaptive optics (AO) technology with a dedicated hands-on training on Real-Time Computer (RTC) installation, held at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. In mid-October, experts and researchers from[…]

THRILL decided to adopt the living standard for a meta-data rich structure data storage developed within the HELPMI project for the acquisition and exchange of laser operations data.The HELPMI format was validated in 2024, within a pilot implementation at GSI and confirmed by machine learning (ML) practitioners within THRILL as suitable for exchanging[…]

From 23-24 June 2025, the THRILL consortium gathered in Hamburg, Germany, for this year’s General Assembly, hosted by our partners at European XFEL. The meeting opened on Monday morning with a comprehensive status update by project coordinator Vincent Bagnoud, who reviewed key milestones, deliverables, and project highlights from recent months. This summary set[…]

A recent online workshop held on June 4, 2025, brought together the developers and potential users to present the current status and discuss the roadmap of the OPOSSUM (Open-source Optics Simulation System and Unified Modeler) software framework. Developed within the THRILL project, OPOSSUM aims to be a flexible, open-source platform for a wide[…]

The THRILL consortium is proud to announce that Jonas B. Ohland, a THRILL collaborator from the first hour, has been awarded a prestigious grant by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) under its “Fusionstalente” program. The funding will support the establishment of his own young investigator group, titled “Adaptive[…]

Thrilled to share that Vincent Bagnoud had the opportunity to present the latest developments of our THRILL project at the Laserlab-Europe General Assembly, hosted at the STFC in Didcot, UK, on 14 May 2025. For more information on our project, follow us on LinkedIn!

We’re excited to share that our latest research paper has been published: Coherent combining of large-aperture high-energy Nd:glass laser amplifiers P. Lebegue, J. De Sousa, C. Rapenau, D. Badarau, J. Andrieu, P. Audebert, F. Druon and D. Papadopouloshttp://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2024.84 Abstract: We present coherent beam combining of nanosecond pulses with 20-J energy and large beams[…]

We are thrilled to share that our first newsletter is out now, highlighting the progress, people, and purpose behind our project. In this issue, you’ll find: To view the newsletter, visit: https://www.thrill-project.eu/thrill-newsletter-1/

Exciting news – a new paper from our team has been published recently: Apollon Real-Time Adaptive Optics (ARTAO) – Astronomy-Inspired Wavefront Stabilization in Ultraintense LasersJ. B. Ohland, N. Lebas, V. Deo, O. Guyon, F. Mathieu, P. Audebert and D. Papadopouloshttps://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2025.16 Abstract: Traditional wavefront control in high-energy, high-intensity laser systems usually lacks real-time capability,[…]

The first online workshop on OPOSSUM – the Open Source Optics Simulation System and Unified Modeler – will take place on Wednesday, 4 June 2025, from 2-4 pm CEST via Zoom. The event will provide a first look at OPOSSUM, developed within the European THRILL project. Although still in early development, OPOSSUM aims[…]

It’s time to look back on our achievements and highlights from the second year of the THRILL project! As we enter the third year of our project, we can report some great results in the last 12 months, from promising tests and experiments to two new publications and a successful summer school in October. All[…]

“I have consistently sought out challenges, often venturing into research areas where I had little initial expertise” With our series #WomeninScience, we will portrait the female scientific staff working on THRILL. They tell us about their roles in our project, what inspires them about their work and their experiences as a woman in[…]

The THRILL workshop on adaptive optics integration brought together leading scientists to address critical challenges in high-power laser control. The year 2025 began on a high note with the successful completion of the THRILL workshop, held on January 16, 2025, at the Department of Physics, University of Oxford. Organized as part of the[…]

We are thrilled to announce the release of OPOSSUM v0.6.0, the latest version of our optical design and simulation software! 1          Overview Over the past five releases, we have developed numerous concepts and features, enabling OPOSSUM to simulate real-life optical models. However, the software currently functions more like an optics library than a[…]

On 18 December 2024, Jonas B. Ohland gave an online presentation on one of the technologies behind the THRILL project in his Laserlab-Europe talk “From Telescopes to Fusion Powerplants: Real-Time Adaptive Optics for High-Power Lasers”. Watch the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAj0Gc22Hpk&t=4s Summary: The Apollon Real-Time Adaptive Optics (ARTAO) system addresses air turbulence-induced Strehl ratio fluctuations[…]

We are thrilled to share that all of our THRILL Project partners met last week in the beautiful city of Prague for their annual General Assembly. All work package and task leaders provided updates on their recent progress. The presentations let to engaging discussions and productive exchanges, setting the stage for a successful[…]

“Trust your own ideas!” With our series #WomeninScience, we will portrait the female scientific staff working on THRILL. They tell us about their roles in our project, what inspires them about their work and their experiences as a woman in science. Meet our second guest, Zsuzsanna Major, staff scientist at GSI (Gesellschaft für[…]

30 students from eight European countries have participated in the first summer school organised by the THRILL Project, held from 7-11 October at the Belambra Resort on the stunning Giens peninsula in the south of France. The goal of the programme was to raise awareness and to provide cutting-edge training on technologies related[…]

Today, we are thrilled to share that within the WP4 effort of THRILL project, the ELI-Beamlines team joined by GSI and HZDR teams, carried out a detailed study to assess the performance of the ATON 180 mm and 300 mm aperture amplifier types at different repetition rates (1 shot per 1 min, 2[…]

The ICUIL conference series is a taking place every other year, while rotating between Europe, North America and Asia. It is one of the most important conferences for the field of high-intensity high-energy lasers and we are proud to be well represented at the conference, where the THRILL team is presenting 2 invited[…]

As part of THRILL Task 5.3, a workshop on adaptive optics integration will be held in conjunction with the LPA Special Workshop on Intelligent Systems from 13-16 January 2025 at the University of Oxford. This in-person event will host a larger community interested in topics related to machine learning, optimization, automation, and system[…]

The developers are happy to announce the release v0.5.0 of the optic design / simulation software OPOSSUM! Over the past four releases, many concepts and features have been worked out. Meanwhile, the software can already be used for simulating real-life optical models. However, since the software still lacks a real user interface (it’s[…]

The EU funded project THRILL organises a summer school on laser technology for high-energy lasers from 7 to 11 October 2024 in Hyères, France. Focus topics will be: – laser architecture and laser amplification– diagnostics and beam quality control– AI in optimization and control– optical coating technologies The school will alternate lectures and[…]

It’s time to look back on our achievements and highlights from the first 12 months of the THRILL project! Since the start of THRILL, we have already seen some encouraging early results, from promising tests and experiments to our first publication and the end-user workshop in October. All work packages are up and[…]

The developers are happy to announce the release v0.4.0 of the optic design / simulation software OPOSSUM. While the software is still in an early design / development phase and not really usable in daily work, many new features have been added. Here are some of the highlights. 1          Improved ray tracing capabilities[…]

On 27 and 28 February, a workshop to kick-off Task 5.4 of the THRILL project brought together laser operators and experts from ELI beamlines, GSI, HIJ, HZDR and LULI to share their approaches to laser-operations data acquisition and laser control. The workshop’s participants also took the opportunity to discuss where Machine Learning (ML)[…]

“Be confident, you can do it!” With the start of our series #WomeninScience, we will portrait the female scientific staff working on THRILL. They tell us about their roles in our project, what inspires them about their work and their experiences as a woman in science. Meet our first guest, Shaimaa Abdalbaqi, Researcher[…]

The developers are happy to announce the release v0.3.0 of the optic design / simulation software OPOSSUM. While the software is still in an early design / development phase and not really usable in daily work, many new features have been added. This work is part of the task 3.4 (“Supporting calculations for[…]

GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, as coordinator of the THRILL project, welcomes three new members to the project: the Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC (ELI-ERIC), the University of Rochester and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Thanks to an amendment to the project, which the European Commission validated recently, the ELI-ERIC and the University[…]

An innovative laser beam optimization technique, named “Zernike-coefficient Extraction via Helical Beam Reconstruction for Optimization” (ZEHBRO), has been presented in a recent publication released in the journal “High Power Laser Science and Engineering” by THRILL researchers. In the pursuit for higher beam quality in Work Package 5 (“Beam Transport and Beam Quality“), the[…]

From 24 to 27 October, 2023, the beautiful setting of Wasem’s Engelthal Monastery in Ingelheim (Germany) became a hub of innovation and collaboration for the high-energy laser community. The four days were a great opportunity to review the progress made in each work package and task, and to exchange views and ideas on[…]

At the end of October, the first THRILL end-user workshop will take place in Ingelheim, Germany. It will offer presentations and discussions of interesting physics being investigated at currently available facilities. The main goal of this workshop is for the high-energy laser community to discuss the expectations for the next generation of lasers[…]

The THRILL (Technology for High-Repetition-rate Intense Laser Laboratories) project received more than ten million euro of funding in the framework of the European Union’s HORIZON EUROPE program. The project aims at providing new designs and high-performance components for high-energy high-repetition-rate lasers, enabling the technical readiness level required to specify and build the needed[…]