Former Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems President and Sierra Space CEO brings decades of experience scaling advanced technology businesses as Xcimer advances its dual-market strategy in fusion energy and defense
DENVER, CO (Nov. 10, 2026) — Xcimer Energy today announced that Tom Vice, a veteran aerospace and defense executive, has joined its board of directors as the company’s first independent director. The appointment comes at a crucial inflection point for Xcimer, which this year completed its prototype laser system, secured a strategic defense partnership with RTX, and tripled its federal funding award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.
Vice brings decades of experience leading complex engineering and manufacturing organizations, commercializing advanced technologies, and managing large-scale businesses serving commercial and national security markets.
Most transformational year yet for Xcimer
Vice joins Xcimer as it scales rapidly. So far in 2026, Xcimer has:
- Launched Phoenix (June 2026): Xcimer completed and began operating Phoenix — the world’s largest privately owned laser system. Phoenix is the first end-to-end integrated excimer-plus-SBS laser system ever operated at fusion-relevant scale.
- Received DOE approval for Athena (June 2026): The U.S. Department of Energy formally accepted Xcimer’s 724-page preconceptual design and commercial roadmap for Athena, its planned commercial fusion power plant, under the DOE’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program — one of the most comprehensive reviews of a privately developed fusion architecture to date.
- Launched a partnership with RTX (September 2026): Xcimer and RTX announced a partnership to co-develop a directed energy laser technology that combines Xcimer’s pulsed-laser technologies with RTX’s defense capabilities to defeat airborne threats. RTX Ventures also made a concurrent strategic investment in Xcimer.
- Tripled its federal awards (October 2026): The DOE awarded Xcimer an additional $30.5 million — more than tripling its initial award to Xcimer — for a total of about $43 million in federal funding.
Demonstrated ability to scale advanced technology businesses
Vice is Chairman and CEO of Astrion, a provider of engineering and technical services to national security and government customers. His previous leadership roles include CEO of Sierra Space, where he led the company through $1.7 billion in Series A and B financing; CEO of Aerion Supersonic; and president of Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector, an approximately $11 billion business with roughly 23,000 employees responsible for some of the most advanced aerospace programs in the U.S. government portfolio.
“Xcimer has the best path to commercial fusion energy precisely because it has developed a technology platform to serve two of the largest and fastest growing markets — energy and defense,” Vice said. “The same core technology and manufacturing capabilities can address urgent national security needs while creating a source of nondilutive funding to advance fusion energy. That gives Xcimer the opportunity to become an exceptionally valuable defense technology company in its own right, while materially reducing the financing risk facing many fusion companies.”
“Tom has spent his career turning complex technology into industrial capability,” said Conner Galloway, co-founder and CEO of Xcimer Energy. “As we move from developing our laser technology toward commercial applications, Tom’s experience building and operating advanced engineering and manufacturing businesses at scale made him by far the best pick for our first independent board member.”
One platform, two markets
Xcimer is developing high-energy excimer lasers for two of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the global economy. In defense, Xcimer is partnering with RTX to integrate its laser technology into directed energy weapon systems, addressing the asymmetry between cheap drone threats and expensive kinetic interceptors characterizing modern warfare.
In energy, Xcimer is advancing an engineering roadmap toward Athena, its planned commercial fusion power plant designed to deliver gigawatt-scale, continuous, carbon-free electricity to the grid. Progress in each market directly strengthens the other: 95% of the engineering for the directed energy demonstrator is shared with Xcimer’s fusion laser architecture.
About Xcimer Energy
Xcimer Energy is developing the world’s most powerful lasers for commercial fusion energy and national security. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Xcimer has raised about $200 million from leading investors including Hedosophia, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Emerson Collective, Prelude Ventures, and others. The company is a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.
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media@xcimer.net
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