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Egbert Westerhof started out at DIFFER in 1983 as a PhD student. He saw the institute evolve from an exclusively fusion-focused ‘family’ inhabiting a medieval castle to a more business-like community committed to fundamental energy research and situated on a modern university campus. As interim head of fusion research, Westerhof is now preparing the next round of evolutions.

Artur Perek built the MANTIS camera, rewrote the software, and contributed to solving the difficult problem of divertor detachment: cooling plasma before it hits the tokamak wall. Perek loved every inch of his PhD.

ORACLE is a new global collaboration to examine new ways of producing green ammonia. The project has received EUR 2,8 million from the EU framework program for research and innovation, Horizon 2020. DIFFER is one of the partners of the project, headed by Aarhus University in Denmark. The program will run for three years, the kick-off was on 25 May 2021.

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.