Thomson coil (TC) actuators are well studied for ultra-fast disconnectors (UFDs) where quick operation is desired, such as for hybrid high voltage direct current circuit breaker (HVDC CB) applications used in HVDC transmission line protection. In this paper, a novel driving circuit using pulse forming network (PFN) for TC has been proposed. Comprehensive multi-physic finite-element simulations of PFN-powered TC are carried out to assess the effect of various current pulses on the TC’s electrical to mechanical energy conversion efficiency, in comparison to the efficiency achieved by using the typical capacitor bank discharge method. In this case, The TC can launch a 53-gram disk to a velocity of 9.4 m/s. The TC is powered by a 13.06 J PFN comprised of forty 196 V electrolytic capacitors; the selected PFN-powered TC obtained efficiency of 17%, which is substantially greater than conventional capacitor-powered TCs with 5 % efficiency.