Horizon EUROfusion is celebrating the start of conceptual designs for a power plant to develop clean and safe nuclear fusion energy.
EUROfusion will be celebrating the start of its conceptual power plant design activities for Europe’s first-ever demonstration fusion power plant, at a livestreamed event in Brussels on 5 July 2022. This nuclear fusion device is expected to demonstrate the net production of up to 500 megawatts of clean and safe nuclear fusion energy to the grid by the middle of the century.
The Horizon EUROfusion event is the first in a planned annual series where the EUROfusion consortium shares an update on Europe’s progress in nuclear fusion research and considers the next steps. This year, key results will be celebrated, such as the consortium’s recent fusion energy record and progress towards creating a heat exhaust for future fusion power plants. EUROfusion’s new seven-year research programme and present collaborations to grow Europe’s fusion industry and the development of new technologies will also be considered.
The development of nuclear fusion energy
Nuclear fusion is the process that powers stars, like our Sun, and promises a fundamentally safe and near-limitless clean energy source for the long term on Earth. Fusion energy would generate immense amounts of energy from mere grams of copious fuels worldwide.
The EUROfusion research consortium brings together experts from across Europe in the world’s leading and most comprehensive nuclear fusion R&D programme. EUROfusion is co-funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme. From the Joint European Torus device (JET) to ITER to DEMO, the European fusion roadmap presents the consortium’s path towards industrial-scale fusion power plant technology to provide clean and safe nuclear fusion energy.
EUROfusion movements directly support the global fusion experiment conducted by ITER and collate with the European industry to develop the first-of-a-kind demonstration fusion power plant DEMO. Earlier this year, EUROfusion researchers demonstrated the potential of fusion by setting a world record of 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy at JET in Culham, UK.
The Horizon EUROfusion event
The Horizon EUROfusion event takes place on 5 July 2022 at the Representation of the German State of Mecklenburg Vorpommern at the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium. The event is open to all through a livestream and as a recording afterwards.
The programme for the event
Word of Welcome
Dr Lars Friedrichsen (State of Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany) Director, and representation for the State of Mecklenburg Vorpommern at the European Union.
Introductory remarks
Ms Bettina Martin (State of Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany) Minister for Science, Culture and Federal / European Affairs.
The European Fusion programme support to the EU climate goals
Ms Joanna Drake (European Commission) Deputy Director-General, DG Research, and Innovation.
A look back at EUROfusion during Horizon 2020
Professor Dr Sibylle Günter (Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Germany), Co-chair of EUROfusion General Assembly.
A look forward to Horizon EUROfusion
Professor Dr Ambrogio Fasoli (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland), Chair of EUROfusion General Assembly.
20 Watts – short video on fusion
The impact of EUROfusion in Finland and its role in FinnFusion
Dr Tuomas Tala (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland), Head of the Fusion Research Unit.
The role of industry in fusion
Ms María Teresa Domínguez Bautista (Empresarios Agrupados energy engineering, Spain), Advanced Projects Director.
From public research in fusion to a start up
Dr Wouter Vijvers (Chromodynamics, the Netherlands), Founder and CEO.
Closing and the way forward
Ms Rosalinde van der Vlies (European Commission) Director of Clean Planet Directorate, DG Research and Innovation.
What is EUROfusion?
The EUROfusion consortium manages experts, students, and facilities from across Europe to appreciate fusion energy in accordance with the European fusion roadmap. EUROfusion is co-funded via the Euratom Research and Training Programme, managed by the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission.
The EUROfusion programme is preparing for experiments at the international ITER project and developing concepts for the European demonstration fusion power plant DEMO. The programme supports fusion education and training and works with companies to develop the European fusion industry.
