Quintessence

Quintessence was a form of dark energy. According to Resistance officer Ushos O. Statura, the scientists working on the Galactic Empire's Project Celestial Power had tried to contain dark-matter quintessence. Originally thought impossible to tap into, the First Order discovered a way to harvest quintessence decades later, giving it a practically unlimited source of energy. The First Order used quintessence to create a superweapon called Starkiller Base, which could destroy entire star systems. When the superweapon fired its planet-shattering beam, it transformed the quintessence within into phantom energy, another form of dark energy. The destruction of the Hosnian system in 34 ABY was visible from across the galaxy due to the sub-hyperspace rip that was created when Starkiller Base fired its main weapon.