ºÚÁÏÉçapp

Pre-register before 1 June 2022 for this year's ºÚÁÏÉçapp International School on the topic of "ºÚÁÏÉçapp Plasma Scenarios and Control."

This in-person event will be held from 25 to 29 July 2022 at the University of California San Diego, hosted by the U.S. Burning Plasma Organization, the ºÚÁÏÉçapp, UC San Diego, and General Atomics.

Most attendees will be graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and early career faculty and research staff working in fields relevant to the ºÚÁÏÉçapp program. Although the agenda will focus on topics of scenarios and control, attendees are not required to be working in these subfields. All nationalities, whether representing an ºÚÁÏÉçapp Member or not, are welcome.

To register, see .

The virtual tour of ºÚÁÏÉçapp construction has been updated with 360° photos from April 2022. Enter the main ºÚÁÏÉçapp plant buildings, fly over the worksite, and plunge 30 metres into the ºÚÁÏÉçapp Tokamak pit to see what has changed since the last update in September 2021.

Accessible from the home page of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp website (yellow icon) or by clicking on the link below.

to enter the latest 360° ºÚÁÏÉçapp virtual tour.

The Financial Times channel produces multimedia content that focuses on "the people, technology, strategies and systems moving us from an economy that is wasteful, idle, lopsided and dirty towards one that is circular, lean, inclusive and clean."

In a video published on 21 April 2022, the channel turns its lens to nuclear fusion and its "enormous potential" as an energy source.

Join host Anjana Ahuja to learn more about fusion science, recent breakthroughs in the field, and growing interest from private investors in "."

Registration is open now for the 11th ºÚÁÏÉçapp International School. This in-person event will be held from 25 to 29 July 2022 at the University of California San Diego, hosted by the U.S. Burning Plasma Organization, the ºÚÁÏÉçapp, UC San Diego, and General Atomics.

The subject of this year's school is "ºÚÁÏÉçapp Plasma Scenarios and Control." As the start of ºÚÁÏÉçapp operation approaches, it is timely to address this challenging multidisciplinary topic: the development of integrated operating scenarios and required plasma control to facilitate the ºÚÁÏÉçapp goals, particularly for plasmas self-heated by fusion-born alpha particles.

Most attendees will be graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and early career faculty and research staff working in fields relevant to the ºÚÁÏÉçapp program. Although the agenda will focus on topics of scenarios and control, attendees are not required to be working in these subfields. All nationalities, whether representing an ºÚÁÏÉçapp Member or not, are welcome.

The ºÚÁÏÉçapp International School is organized regularly with the goal of giving young scientists and engineers a taste of the stimulating, multi-disciplinary and challenging field that is nuclear fusion.

For all information on the 2022 edition and to register, see .

The B1M—the world's largest, most subscribed-to video channel for construction—aims to inspire people to join the construction industry by showcasing the incredible projects and feats of engineering it delivers.

In March 2022, the team came to ºÚÁÏÉçapp. The result is an entertaining and educational nine-minute video that takes you into the very heart of ºÚÁÏÉçapp machine construction. "This is so much more than just an energy project; it's a $22 billion science experiment between a whole host of nations all coming together to try and change how we generate power on this planet," says host Fred Mills as he guides the viewer through a maze of components and tooling in the ºÚÁÏÉçapp Assembly Hall.

Colette Ricketts, deputy head of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp Project Control Office, also makes a cameo appearance to explain how the arrival of components from the ºÚÁÏÉçapp Members is planned and managed ... and re-planned if necessary, as when international events have an unexpected effect on manufacturing or shipping.

"It's a pretty nuclear level of project collaboration," says the B1M team. "It's kind of like building a LEGO kit ... just 10 million times more complicated."

Watch "We Went Inside the Largest Nuclear Fusion Reactor" on YouTube .

Donato Lioce, head of ºÚÁÏÉçapp's Tokamak Cooling Water System Section, describes the plant system that will remove heat from the ºÚÁÏÉçapp machine and in-vessel components as "absolutely unique."

One of its peculiarities is the sheer volume of equipment—which is absolutely huge compared to the cooling system in a nuclear fission plant. More than 6,000 tonnes of equipment, 43 kilometres of piping, 3,000 valves, heat exchangers, pumps ... all housed over the seven levels in the Tokamak Building. Another is the fact that the system is designed not only to cool, but also to heat: the same equipment that circulates cooling water can also circulate hot water to "bake" tokamak components before plasma operation, or hot gas to "dry" components before maintenance. The cyclical nature of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp machine, designed for 30,000 plasma pulses, also has repercussions for the design of the tokamak cooling water system and its hundreds of clients.

Follow along as Donato describes in detail the different functionalities of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp tokamak cooling water system, system equipment, and the procurement effort that is underway now.

Watch the eighth episode of ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talks . 

See the full ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talks playlist on YouTube .

On Monday 28 March 2022, the Chinese Embassy in France organized a ceremony in honour of the two French laureates of the 2020 China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. Eight international scientists had been named during the National Science and Technology Award Conference held in Beijing in November 2021; due to the pandemic, the prize ceremonies are being organized by Chinese embassies.

Fusion expert Alain Bécoulet and French hematologist Jacques Caen received their awards from the hands of Ambassador Lu Shaye.

Alain Bécoulet is former director of the Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research (IRFM), part of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and current Head of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp Engineering Domain. In the course of his career, he helped to develop scientific collaboration between the Chinese and European fusion communities, particulary between the WEST project that he headed at IRFM and China's EAST tokamak. He has been a frequent visitor to the country, making more than 30 trips and developing "warm and confident relationships." HE expressed his "honour, pride and joy" at receiving the prize during his acceptance speech in Paris. 

The International Science and Technology Cooperation Award was initiated by China's State Council in 1994, and is conferred on foreign individuals or organizations that have made important contribution to China's science and technology development.

During the 30th Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE 2023, 9-14 July 2023), the Fusion Technology Awards for 2022 and 2023 will be presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through innovation in all fusion approaches that have shown significant promise or progress in the design of reactors or in the understanding of fusion plasmas.

The awards each consist of a USD 3,000 cash prize and a plaque. The nomination package should be sent to the Fusion Technology Committee Awards Chair, Dr. Carl Pawley (drcpawley@ieee.org), and it should consist of a letter describing the technical contributions on which the nomination is recommended and a current resume of the candidate. Other supporting endorsements are encouraged.

The nomination deadline for the 2022 and 2023 Fusion Technology Awards is 8 April 2022.

For more detailed information on eligibility, basis for judging, the nomination process or a list of past award recipients, please visit the IEEE-NPSS and go to the "Fusion Technology Awards" section.

The 2022 Big Science Business Forum is the "one-stop meeting point" in Europe between Big Science and industry.

Scheduled from 4 to 7 October 2022 as an in-person event in Granada, Spain, the forum will feature the procurement and technology transfer opportunities of eleven prominent European Big Science research facilities in the areas of astrophysics, space, synchrotrons, high-energy accelerators and fusion. The European Domestic Agency for ºÚÁÏÉçapp, Fusion for Energy, is one of the founding members of the Big Science Business Forum. Some speakers from the ºÚÁÏÉçapp will also be present at the event.

Business opportunities worth EUR 37 million (for the period 2022-2026) will be presented. More than 1,000 participants from 500 companies and organizations across Europe are expected. 

A specific "Technology Transfer track" will provide research entities and companies at the forum with the means to share and seek technologies that have potential cross-market applications, either in Big Science or in other markets.

Opportunities to get involved in the IFMIF-DONES materials research facility, a key step on the European Roadmap to Fusion Energy that is planned for construction in Granada, Spain, will also be highlighted.

A special event dedicated to "Women in Big Science" is scheduled on Day 1.

See all information at .

The European Fusion Education Network  has released a new 30-minute video on fusion energy. In "The Easiest Thing Nature Does," the viewer is introduced to the whats, whys, and hows of fusion by some of the very people who are working on the ground in Europe to make fusion energy a reality.

Meet researchers from CIEMAT (Spain), the Max Planck Institute for Fusion Energy (Germany), the ºÚÁÏÉçapp, and York University (United Kingdom). Hear from members of the UKAEA/JET tokamak team, including a mechatronics engineer, a plasma spectroscopist, a senior operations manager, and a diagnostics project engineer. Learn about tokamaks, stellarators and the current dynamism of the private fusion sector. And drop by ºÚÁÏÉçapp, where construction is underway on the world's largest fusion device.

It's an exciting time for those involved in fusion worldwide, and it's a sector that is recruiting. "The Easiest Thing Nature Does" lists the many types of skills that are needed and invites you to get involved!

See the video on this or .

"All ºÚÁÏÉçapp ºÚÁÏÉçapp," ºÚÁÏÉçapp's first podcast miniseries, is now available through  the only 24/7 English-speaking national radio channel in France. If you haven't heard about it already, "All ºÚÁÏÉçapp ºÚÁÏÉçapp" is a miniseries with six episodes that dive deep into what makes ºÚÁÏÉçapp tick: from the science behind fusion, to the manufacturing taking place all over the world, to the people behind the project.

You can listen to "All ºÚÁÏÉçapp ºÚÁÏÉçapp" live on World Radio Paris (WRP) between the weeks of 7 March and 16 May (schedule below), on the WRP website, or by downloading the WRP app.

And if you're not in France, the ºÚÁÏÉçapp podcast "All ºÚÁÏÉçapp ºÚÁÏÉçapp" is available on , , , , ,  and the ºÚÁÏÉçapp website.

Schedule: World Radio Paris
Mondays, 2 p.m.
Tuesdays, 11 a.m.
Fridays, 7 p.m.
Episode 1: Week of 7 March
Episode 2: Week of 21 March
Episode 3: Week of 4 April
Episode 4: Week of 18 April
Episode 5: Week of 2 May
Episode 6: Week of 16 May

A theoretical physicist, but one who views theory as something "to be put to use," Alain Bécoulet can speak (and write) about fusion in terms that are both simple and inspiring. In his recently published Star Power: ºÚÁÏÉçapp and the International Quest for Fusion Energy (MIT Press), he offers a concise and accessible overview of fusion energy promises and challenges, not only explaining the underlying science and technology but also describing the massive international effort to harness this potential new energy source.

Having embraced plasma physics in the mid-1980s as a student at France's prestigious École Normale Supérieure, Bécoulet draws from his long experience in fusion research, first at France's Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research (IRFM), and since February 2020 as head of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp Engineering Domain, to explain how the long-pursued dream of harnessing the energy of the Sun and stars is on the verge of becoming reality.

Find out more .

In this ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talk, the seventh in the series, ºÚÁÏÉçapp scientific expert Joseph Snipes walks us through plans for ºÚÁÏÉçapp operation. What does the "Q" in ºÚÁÏÉçapp's goal of Q=10 stand for? How will the machine and its systems be prepped for operation? What are the different steps between First Plasma and full fusion power operation?

The ºÚÁÏÉçapp Research Plan will proceed in four stages—a careful step-by-step strategy designed to achieve high plasma performance operation up to a plasma current of 15 MA, with key milestones along the way. Learn about the staggered assembly of key systems, the specific goals of each operation phase, the means to achieve the goals, and the importance of robust plasma control. By the end of the talk, you'll know (a lot) more about the unique capabilities of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp experimental device.

A note to viewers: This ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talk goes hand in hand with ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talk (6)—"Tokamak Physics for Nuclear Fusion" by the head of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp Science Division Alberto Loarte (viewable ).

Watch the seventh episode of ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talks .

See the full ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talks playlist on YouTube .

Alberto Loarte, head of the Science Division at the ºÚÁÏÉçapp, introduces us to the physics of ºÚÁÏÉçapp plasmas and explains how the physics justifies the design of the machine. He reviews the deuterium-tritium nuclear fusion process, the role of magnetic fields in fusion, the specificities of the tokamak configuration, energy and particle confinement, heating and fuelling, and finally fusion power, particle exhaust and plasma-wall interactions. And he does it all in a clear and understandable way!

A note to viewers: This ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talk goes hand in hand with ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talk (7)—"The ºÚÁÏÉçapp Research Plan: How to Reach Q=10" by ºÚÁÏÉçapp scientific expert Joseph Snipes (viewable on the ºÚÁÏÉçapp YouTube channel .

Watch the sixth episode of ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talks .

See the full ºÚÁÏÉçapp Talks playlist on YouTube .

There are presently two approaches to realizing hydrogen fusion. One, implemented in tokamaks and stellarators, consists in heating a very tenuous plasma to temperatures in the 100 million degrees Celsius range and to confine it in a magnetic cage—this is magnetic fusion. Another, called inertial fusion, is implemented in installations such as the American National Ignition Facility (NIF) or the French Laser Mégajoule. In inertial fusion an array of hundreds of powerful lasers, precisely focused, is used to compress to extreme density (and hence very high temperature) tiny hydrogen-filled capsules inside which fusion reactions can occur.

Now, a third approach is being considered and experimented at , in Cleveland, Ohio. Called "lattice confinement fusion," it could one day provide enough power to operate small space probes or rovers for planetary exploration.

In lattice confinement fusion (LCF), a beam of gamma rays is directed at a sample of erbium or titanium saturated with deuterium nuclei (deuteron). Occasionally, gamma rays of sufficient energy will break apart a deuteron in the metal lattice into its constituent proton and neutron. The energetic neutron has a chance of colliding with another deuteron in the lattice, imparting it with some of its energy. And sometimes that energy is enough for deuterons to fuse into a helium-3 nucleus (helion) and give off useful energy. A leftover neutron could provide the push for another energetic deuteron elsewhere in the lattice.

"Our work represents just the first step toward realizing that goal," say the scientists involved in this endeavour. "If the reaction rates can be significantly boosted, LCF may open an entirely new door for generating clean nuclear energy, both for space missions and for the many people who could use it here on Earth."

 Read more about lattice confinement fusion on the IEEE Spectrum .

During the operation of a fusion machine, it is important to know the surface composition of the plasma-facing components, which can evolve over time (erosion, oxidation...) and modify plasma interaction conditions.

The team at the WEST tokamak in France is testing a new kind of diagnostic, called the fibered LIBS (for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy), to characterize internal surfaces of WEST and later ºÚÁÏÉçapp. 

In LIBS, a high-intensity pulsed laser beam is focused on the surface to be analyzed. The laser/matter interaction leads to the ablation of the material and the creation of a plasma plume. The spectral analysis of the plasma emission gives access to the elemental composition of the ablated material and thus the composition of the material under study.

Installed on an inspection robot equipped with an articulated arm, the LIBS tool consists of an optical fibre carrying the incident laser light and the light emitted during the interaction of the laser beam with the material under study. The diagnostic can not only characterize all internal surfaces of the machine and follow their evolution, but also (in ºÚÁÏÉçapp) monitor tritium concentration in the first wall and detect eventual helium bubbles in plasma-facing components coming from the interaction of fusion neutrons with the materials.

The first tests were carried out in December 2021. Read the original article in or in .

Mark your calendars: The Head of ºÚÁÏÉçapp's Science Division, Alberto Loarte, will be giving a webinar on 2 February 2022 called "Burning Plasma Aspects at ºÚÁÏÉçapp."

The talk is part of a webinar series organized by the U.S. Burning Plasma Organization (USBPO) that runs from January through August 2022 with one or two webinars a month. (See the full program .) 

The U.S. Burning Plasma Organization (USBPO) is a national organization of scientists and engineers involved in researching magnetically confined burning fusion plasmas.

To sign up for "Burning Plasma Aspects at ºÚÁÏÉçapp," see .

The global manufacturing intelligence firm Hexagon AB is providing metrology support to ºÚÁÏÉçapp for the precise assembly of components during the machine assembly phase. In this promotional video you can watch how the huge components of ºÚÁÏÉçapp's first vacuum vessel sub-assembly are brought together with assembly tolerances of just 1 mm.

See the video .

The 59th Culham Plasma Physics Summer School will take place from 18 to 28 July 2022 at the Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire (UK).

The aim of the Summer School is to provide an introduction to the fundamental principles of plasma physics, together with a broad understanding of its fields of application. It assumes no previous knowledge of the subject, but familiarity with electromagnetism and applied mathematics at first degree level would be helpful.

The 2022 school will cover fundamental plasma physics, as well as important topics in fusion, astrophysical, laser and low temperature plasmas. Lecturers are drawn from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) together with leading European universities. All are renowned experts in their fields.

Special arrangements are being made this year to allow for COVID. For more details and to apply visit the .

The deadline for applications is 20 June 2022.

Scientists from the European research consortium EUROfusion have recently completed ambitious fusion energy experiments at the world-leading fusion research facility JET (Joint European Torus) at the UK Atomic Energy Authority in Oxford, UK. Join them for a media event on Wednesday 9 February 2022 at 12pm - 2pm GMT as they reveal the exciting results.

to link to the media event.