12 Nov. Long-term funding for fusion research in Germany
With its ‚High-Tech Agenda Germany‘, the German government has set the course for funding fusion research in Germany until 2040. The action plan ‚Germany on the Way to a Fusion Power Plant‚ presents eight measures for building the world’s first fusion power plant in Germany.
Cutting-edge fusion research at European XFEL
The world’s largest X-ray laser, European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg, is set to play an important role in this. It can be used to investigate fundamental processes of nuclear fusion. In particular, researchers at European XFEL want to contribute to investigating the critical early phases of the fusion reaction. Its experimental facilities are equipped with powerful lasers that generate the very high energy densities required to produce plasmas. Using extremely short and intense X-ray laser pulses, researchers will be able to study the reactions step by step. The aim is to capture extremely detailed images from inside fusion experiments, down to the atomic level. “With our X-ray laser, we can precisely study how fusion works,” explains Professor Thomas Feurer, Chairman of the Management Board of European XFEL. “This will enable researchers to better understand the complex processes and determine under which conditions a fusion reaction begins and how it can be optimized.”
Back in June 2024, a workshop at European XFEL recognized that combining European XFEL’s precise X-ray flashes with powerful lasers could provide new insights that would significantly advance fusion research. European XFEL is therefore planning to establish an internationally visible platform for investigating states of matter under extreme conditions. “We are optimistic that we can offer new perspectives for fusion-related research,” says Sakura Pascarelli, Scientific Director at European XFEL. “In this way, we can support international efforts to make a significant contribution to the global endeavor to find clean and safe energy sources for the future.”
The benefits of European XFEL
European XFEL is an international research facility of superlatives: 27,000 X-ray laser flashes per second and a luminosity billions of times higher than the best conventional X-ray sources open up new research opportunities. Research groups from all over the world can use the European X-ray laser to image atomic details of matter, decipher the molecular composition of cells or viruses, take three-dimensional images in the nanocosmos, film chemical reactions, or investigate processes such as those occurring inside planets. European XFEL is a non-profit research organization that works closely with its majority shareholder, the DESY research center, and other international institutions, and employs more than 550 people.
Source and image: www.xfel.eu