Fusion Research
The Dream of inexhaustible clean energy
Picture: Jan Hosan
Making the sun's energy source usable on earth - that is the goal of nuclear fusion research. The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) is investigating the physical basis for a fusion power plant. The IPP was a member of the Helmholtz Association until 2021 and has been scientifically associated since then.
Research Topic:
In the “magnetic fusion” method pursued at the IPP, a plasma with a temperature of more than 100 million degrees Celsius is enclosed in a magnetic field. Light atomic nuclei fuse in this plasma, releasing large amounts of energy in the process. These can be harnessed in a future fusion power plant. Plasma, sometimes referred to as the “fourth state of matter”, is a hot gas in which negatively charged electrons and positively charged atomic nuclei can move freely.
Picture: Jan Hosan
Concept of Magnet Fusion
The IPP is the only institute in the world that investigates the two main concepts of magnetic fusion - tokamak and stellarator - with large-scale experiments.
At the IPP site in Garching near Munich, the institute operates the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak.
The tokamak is the best-researched fusion concept to date. In it, the plasma is confined in a donut-shaped vacuum vessel with the help of three overlapping magnetic fields, virtually contact-free. In principle, a tokamak power plant must be operated in pulsed mode.
A stellarator power plant, on the other hand, can run in continuous operation thanks to its complex magnetic field configuration. The IPP operates Wendelstein 7-X in Greifswald, the world's most powerful facility of this type. It is intended to prove that stellarators are suitable for use in power plants.
The world's largest fusion plant, ITER, is currently being built in southern France. This international tokamak project is set to release more fusion energy for the first time than the amount of heating energy that needs to be invested. ASDEX Upgrade is carrying out essential preliminary work for ITER.
Social Benefit
In a future energy mix, fusion power plants, together with wind power and photovoltaics, can help to meet the growing energy needs of mankind - without producing climate-damaging emissions. They can generate electricity, but also provide process heat for industry or be used for the production of hydrogen.