Research for a new primary energy source

Rising living standards and energy demand are closely linked: we expect that world energy consumption will have tripled by 2050 – and doubled again by 2100. In the long term, mankind has only two options for securing its energy supply and thus its quality of life: renewable energies and nuclear energy. We at Jülich are using our know-how to exploit an entirely new source of primary energy, a form of nuclear energy that is safe, environmentally friendly, and will be available for a very long time: we are helping to develop nuclear fusion power plants, namely through our research, teaching, and training activities. In doing so, we attach a great deal of importance to providing information to the general public.

Public relations for Jülich fusion research

We provide:

• Guided tours of our institute for visitor groups.
• Press and media services: Contact details.

Research

Over the past decades, Jülich has acquired comprehensive expertise in two of the most important fields of fusion research: plasma-wall interaction and fusion experiment technology. This entails extracting the energy generated in the fusion vacuum vessel at temperatures of over 100 million degrees safely and non-destructively via suitable materials for the vacuum vessel wall – and doing so 24 hours a day in spite of the strong neutron radiation load. Our work also involves the construction of important components for nuclear fusion reactors. To find out more about our specific research topics, click here.

Teaching activities at universities

Our heads of institute and other employees are also professors or lecturers at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia. They pass on their knowledge to students and thus to the next generation of fusion researchers.

Training

We provide support for young people in a variety of ways. The following opportunities are offered here:

• Vocational training in technical and commercial occupations
• Work placements for school and university students
• Opportunities for writing bachelor's, master's, diploma and PhD theses
• Participation in graduate schools within the scope of a PhD thesis
• Summer schools for university and PhD students

Here is just one example: in conjunction with our colleagues in the Trilateral Euregio Cluster (TEC) in Belgium and the Netherlands, we hold the "Carolus Magnus Summer School on Plasma and Fusion Energy Physics" every two years in September. Over a two-week period, we give budding young fusion researchers from all over the world the opportunity to learn about both the basic principles of nuclear fusion and the state of the art of research in a relaxed atmosphere.