News

Extreme conditions exist in a fusion reactor and the reactor vessel wall must be able to withstand extreme heat. Many wall materials have been tested already and found to be inadequate. A wall made of liquid metals now seems to be the solution.

DIFFER has a new financial system, and so do the other NWO-I institutes: a major operation. René Schoonen (DIFFER Finance and Control) was one of the people behind the scenes, he was member of the steering committee of the introduction project. Mariette Huisjes portrayed him for the DIFFER Annual Report 2020.

Brightsite has recently been awarded a MOOI (Missiegedreven Onderzoek, Ontwikkeling en Innovatie – Mission-driven Research, Development and Innovation) subsidy, which it will use to develop plasma technology together with a new consortium.

Who is the greatest scientific talent in the Netherlands and Belgium? Heat shield specialist Peter Rindt has a chance to win the title of New Scientist Science Talent (Wetenschapstalent) 2021. The editors of New Scientist chose the fusion researcher as a nominee from more than 50 submissions.

Using machine learning is a promising trend in modelling the behaviour of the plasma inside a nuclear fusion reactor. DIFFER-researchers are pioneering very fast neural network models for plasma turbulence.