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At the cutting edge
of technology
How can industrial companies benefit from fusion research contracts?
Fusion lights up sun and stars. If we succeed in utilising
this energy source on earth, humanity will be guaranteed
an important contribution to a long-term supply of power
and heat. Scientists around the world are working on complex
technologies for future fusion power plants – and Max Planck
Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) is participating with a leading
role. It is the only institute in the world to investigate both
types of fusion devices – tokamak and stellarator – in parallel:
in Garching it operates the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak and in
Greifswald the still young Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. Ultrathin
but extremely hot is the plasma, an electrically charged
hydrogen gas that is studied in these research facilities. To
be able to heat it to an ignition temperature of more than 100
million degrees Celsius, it has to be contained in a magnetic
field cage.
Building and enhancing a fusion research facility – this is a
technological and scientific challenge that has almost reached
the limits of what is achievable technically. More than offthe
shelf solutions have to be sought and found, jointly tested
and practiced. Industrial partners are driven to technological
excellence, as the following success stories, especially from
the construction phase of Wendelstein 7-X, demonstrate. This
creates added value, especially for the companies: Often they
can subsequently increase their competitiveness and expand
their portfolio through the newly acquired know-how.
How do industrial companies benefit from contracts for fusion
research? We would like to thank our partners from industry
who have provided us with information for the revised and
extended edition of this brochure.
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