IPFN – Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear

Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear (IPFN, Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion) is a research unit of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) with the status of Associated Laboratory granted by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.
IPFN ensures the Portuguese participation in EUROFusion, the European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy. The role of the research unit at national and international level was recognized in the last FCT evaluation of R&D units, where IPFN was awarded the classification “Exceptional” (awarded only to 11 research units out of 300+ evaluated).

Research at IPFN is organized into two Thematic Areas

Controlled Nuclear Fusion
This research line is focused on the work program established by the Euratom Fusion roadmap H2020, which includes activities associated with the development of systems, operation, and scientific exploitation of large and medium-sized tokamaks and stellarator, as well as with the design and construction of the next generation fusion devices.

Intense Lasers and Plasma Technologies – This research line takes advantage of the critical mass of the groups within it to address frontier questions in gas electronics, sources of particles and radiating species, ultra-short, ultra-intense lasers and their applications, plasma accelerators and advanced radiation sources, ultra cold plasmas, and fundamental science in space.

Education encompasses a broad range of activities – Including coordination and participation in Doctoral Programs and Master Degrees, training of young researchers in advanced facilities, and outreach activities for pre-university students and teachers.

IPFN is a member of the EUROFusion consortium, which comprises 30 research organisations, and behind them about 150 affiliated entities including universities and companies, from 25 European Union member states plus the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Ukraine are members of the consortium. The EUROfusion decisions are taken by the General Assembly, the ultimate decision making body made up of representatives from all Research Units.