KARLSRUHE, Germany, May 15, 2026 – Nanoscribe, a global leader in high-precision 3D microfabrication, has secured multiple orders in Q1 2026 for its Quantum X systems from three internationally leading organizations in Asia and North America at the forefront of Inertial Fusion Energy. The systems will be used for the fabrication of Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) targets, underscoring Nanoscribe’s accelerating role in advancing laser fusion development and next-generation clean-energy technologies.
The increasing adoption of Nanoscribe’s additive manufacturing solutions in the fusion energy sector highlights both the maturity and exceptional throughput of the company’s Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) technology. At the core of this momentum is the patented Two-Photon Grayscale Lithography (2GL®) technique, purpose-built for the fabrication of complex 3D objects such as laser fusion targets.
Accelerating throughput in 3D nano- and microfabrication
This breakthrough technology, 2GL speeds up fabrication times up to 60-fold compared to conventional 2PP and simultaneously improves the shape accuracy and precision of printed objects. More than 4,000 gray levels result in ultra-smooth surfaces with nanometer-scale roughness, essential for high-performance fusion target shells and support the rapid fabrication of highly filigree struts in the target’s interior. The combination of speed, accuracy, and surface quality allows researchers to rapidly prototype and iterate fusion target designs with intricate lattice structures as well as highly precise spherical shells.
“The strong market demand for our Quantum X systems in the field of IFE target manufacturing underscores the rapid technological advances we have achieved,” says Martin Hermatschweiler, CEO and Co-Founder of Nanoscribe. “Since our founding in 2007, print rates have increased by a factor of 1.9 per year, equivalent to an improvement of five orders of magnitude. We are committed to driving 2PP throughput along this trajectory in the years ahead. We are leading 2PP into its most transformative era, laying the groundwork for IFE-based power plants expected to go online commercially in the mid-2040s.” Hermatschweiler concludes.
Nanoscribe’s role in IFE target fabrication
Inertial fusion is widely regarded as a promising pathway to abundant, clean energy. However, it requires the production of highly complex targets with extreme precision and at increasing scale from early research volumes to full operational power plant demands.
Nanoscribe’s high-precision additive manufacturing solutions address these challenges by combining sub-micrometer accuracy with scalable throughput while keeping processes simple, accelerating the path from initial concept to optimized fusion targets.
More information:
https://www.nanoscribe.com/en/applications/laser-fusion-targets.
About Nanoscribe
Nanoscribe is the pioneer and market leader in high-precision additive manufacturing. The medium-sized company develops and produces 3D printers and grayscale lithography systems, as well as specially developed printing materials and application-specific solutions for microfabrication on the nano-, micro- and mesoscale.
Founded in 2007 as a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Nanoscribe has been part of the Lab14 Group since December 2024. The company holds more than 150 patents and licenses and employs over 100 people worldwide, with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and China. Its systems and solutions are used by more than 5,500 users and operators at leading universities and innovative companies worldwide and have supported more than 2,500 peer-reviewed scientific publications. For more information, visit https://www.nanoscribe.com.
