TU Eindhoven’s Science and Technology of Nuclear Fusion group works to overcome pressing problems of nuclear fusion energy by developing innovative solutions, ranging from innovative diagnostic tools, advanced power exhaust concepts, to liquid wall concepts.
Nuclear fusion, one of the most daunting scientific and technological challenges, could eventually provide humanity with a clean, safe and virtually unlimited energy source.
Motivated by this potential, Science and Technology of Nuclear Fusion works to tackle some of its most important challenges. The group addresses these issues from different angles, utilising the wide variety of tools that theory, numerical models and experiments provide.
Training a new generation of fusion energy engineers
Through the Science and Technology of Nuclear Fusion master’s degree programme, a new generation of fusion engineers will propel the field of nuclear fusion into the future.
The approach is highly multidisciplinary, which is reflected in the close collaboration with the Applied Physics, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering departments as well as the on-campus Dutch Institute For Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER).
Science and Technology of Nuclear Fusion contribute to and are in close contact with the largest fusion energy efforts around the world, including ITER and Wendelstein 7-X.
This provides students with the opportunity to use their skills in cutting-edge research, preparing them for their role as the fusion engineers of the future.
Expert academics advance cutting-edge research
The group is chaired by Associate Professor Roger Jaspers, who also organises the master’s programme.
His main areas of expertise include energetic particles in fusion plasmas, alternative fusion concepts, plasma physics and spectroscopic diagnostisation of ion processes in fusion plasmas (temperature, transport, flow, fast particles). For this purpose, the group collaborates with the international fusion experiments W7-X (Germany), Mast-U (UK), and TCV (Switzerland).
Further expertise in the group is provided by the staff scientists:
Thomas Morgan is an expert in plasma material interaction and provides the link between the DIFFER institute and the MAGNUM-PSI experiments.
Kevin Verhaegh is leading the Eurofusion research on alternative diverter concepts and is directly involved in the experiments at MAST-U and TCV.
Felix Warmer and Josefine Proll, both employed at IPP-Greifswald, but with a guest scientist status in the TU/e group to bring in expertise for the stellarator physics, mainly the turbulence optimisation as well as the reactor concept studies.