It is an open-secret that NIF is not as much a simulator for fusion as for devices. They have admitted as much on their public site[1]. [1] https://wci.llnl.go

It is an open-secret that NIF is not as much a simulator for fusion as for devices. They have admitted as much on their public site[1]. [1] https://wci.llnl.gov/facilities/nif https://wci.llnl.gov/facilities/nif Edit: However it is good to note that in comparison with other fusion methods, laser based methods relax materials constraints I listed above simply by spreading the energy/particle fluxes over larger surface areas. If you built a giant fusion reactor based on NIF you could reduce DPA and temperature requirements, but it would fundamentally be a "shot" based reactor.