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The Wendelstein 7-X fusion project at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, Germany is slated to begin operation later this year. The US, through the Department of Energy, contributed financing to the construction of the device; now, US scientists will have the opportunity to be involved in the research conducted on the machine from 2015 to 2017 with a contribution of about $4 million annually.

The renewed funding enables US universities to take an active role in the research program during the next three years. Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will measure the turbulence in the plasma by various methods; scientists from the universities at Wisconsin and Auburn will be concerned with the properties of the plasma edge. Finally, studies on a probe for measuring electric fields in the plasma will be conducted by a private research company, Xantho Technologies, in Madison, Wisconsin.   Three national research centres (Princeton, Oak Ridge and Los Alamos) will also be involved in projects on Wendelstein 7-X, including the construction and operation of an X-ray spectrometer, development of a pellet injector that injects tiny frozen hydrogen pellets to refuel the plasma, and operation of the five large auxiliary coils supplied by the US.   Read the full article on the IPP website. (image credit: RST Rostock/EADS)

​Since February 2012, and the signature of a major framework contract with the ITER Organization, the group DAHER is the Logistics Service Provider for the project's global transport, logistics and insurance needs.

Through implementation agreements concluded with each ITER Domestic Agency, DAHER (or DAHER partners nominated locally) will manage the complex logistics related to the transport of ITER components from suppliers all over the globe to the ITER site.   In May 2015, as part of a three-day training session held by DAHER for its logistics partners from China (Sinotrans) and India (Deugro India), a site visited was organized at ITER.   "Our main objective is to offer an equal level of services to all the Members of the global ITER Project," said François Genevey, Daher director for ITER logistics. "Our partners located in each Member are recognized specialists who offer a regional point of contact and expertise. DAHER ensures that each partner is provided with all IT tools and processes that allow for the delivery of the best services to the Domestic Agencies."   In addition to the site visit, the training program also included a visit of facilities at the Mediterranean arrival point for all ITER components arriving by sea (Fos-sur-Mer); the discovery of the 104-kilometre itinerary to ITER; an introduction to DAHER logistics tools for ITER; and a session on the management of Protection Important Components (PIC) and, more generally, on the specific demands of a basic nuclear installation like ITER in France.   A similar kick-off meeting was held in September 2014 for DAHER partners from Japan, Korea and the US.   Daher partners for ITER are : Cosco and Sinotrans (China), Deugro (India), Hitachi (Japan), Shin Jo (Korea), and Transproject (US).

​Applications are now open for the 2015 edition of the International School on Fusion Technologies that will be held at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany) from 31 August 2015 to 11 September 2015.

The twelve-day program focuses on the current status of key fusion technologies and on long-term R&D—particularly in view of the next step beyond ITER, the demonstration power station DEMO.

The deadline for applications is 15 July. More information can be found on the KIT website.

​By Raphael Rosen

Scientists from General Atomics and the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have discovered a phenomenon that helps them to improve fusion plasmas, a finding that may quicken the development of fusion energy.

Together with a team of researchers from across the United States, the scientists found that when they injected tiny grains of lithium into a plasma undergoing a particular kind of turbulence then, under the right conditions, the temperature and pressure rose dramatically. High heat and pressure are crucial to fusion, a process in which atomic nuclei — or ions — smash together and release energy — making even a brief rise in pressure of great importance for the development of fusion energy.

"These findings might be a step towards creating our ultimate goal of steady-state fusion, which would last not just for milliseconds, but indefinitely," said Tom Osborne, a physicist at General Atomics and lead author of the paper. This work was supported by the DOE Office of Science.

 Left: DIII-D tokamak. Right: Cross-section of plasma in which lithium has turned the emitted light green. (Credits: Left, General Atomics / Right, Steve Allen, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Read the whole article on the PPPL website.