Comment by e1g

Good write-up to temper expectations at https://twitter.com/wilson_ricks/status/1602088153577246721

My TLDR (from a layman):

  * The output is greater than the energy *in the lasers*, but the lasers deliver 1% of the energy required to power them. Need 100x improvement to break even.
  * Converting the generated energy into electricity would cut the output in half. We need a further 2x improvement here, so it's ~200x to break even end-to-end.
  * The scientific equipment requires immense & expensive maintenance.
  * Plus the $3B facility around the equipment, that theoretically could deliver just 2.5 MW.

So we might be as close as 10-20 years away, as always!