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On our way to industrial high power lasers up to 40 kW, we have successfully realized the first step, i.e. the development of an extremely compact 12 kW CO2 laser with a very high beam quality. Both, the size of the laser head and the beam quality are comparable to the best and most compact 5 -6 kW lasers currently available. The combination of these characteristics was made possible by the unique square resonator, new turbo blowers, improved RF-excitation and an optimized stable resonator design. The laser is capable of high frequency pulsing up to 100 kHz with consistent mode quality over the full power range from 5 -100%.Detailed beam quality analysis is presented. In its 10 kW version, this laser has a beam quality better than K = 0.35 . This unmatched focusability permits high quality deep penetration welding and ultra high power cutting applications. In first application tests, we were able to obtain a 15 mm welding depth in mild steel (St 37) at 1 mlmin with 8.5 kW at the workpiece and we proved that the laser has good cutting capabilities.Current work concentrates on a completely new 20 -30 kW laser, which should show similar characteristics as the 12 kW Laser with regard to spatial and temporal beam quality. Furthermore, with the footprint of the laser head being only 4.5 m2, this system is significantly smaller than those that are currently available, which is a prime consideration for expanded industrial use.