Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP)

IPP, Bavarian State Government, Proxima Fusion and RWE sign memorandum of understanding

IPP, Bavarian State Government, Proxima Fusion and RWE sign memorandum of understanding for a demonstration stellarator Alpha and more. www.ipp.mpg.de/mou26en

When heat transport flips: simulations explain the formation of the H-mode

When heat transport flips: simulations explain the formation of the H-mode. Explanation of a 40+ year old mystery. www.ipp.mpg.de/zholobenko-h...

Vacuum vessel of the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak in a snowstorm

Vacuum vessel of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in a snowstorm

2025 was an exciting year for fusion research again.
We wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year!
#fusionenergy #nuclearfusion

Ein Kameramann filmt, wie Thomas Klinger und Hartmut Zohm sich stehend unterhalten. Im Hintergrund ein Segment des alten Stellarators Wendelstein 7-AS

Kameramann mit Kamera filmt Thomas Klinger

Die IPP-Direktoren Thomas Klinger und Hartmut Zohm sitzen an einem runden Tisch. Rechts ist eine Kamera aufgebaut, die sie filmt

Am 10. 12. hatte unser Wendelstein 7-X Geburtstag. Vor zehn Jahren zündete er sein erstes Plasma. Aus diesem Anlass zeichneten unsere Direktoren Hartmut Zohm und Thomas Klinger eine Sonderfolge für „Urknall, Weltall und das Leben“ auf. youtu.be/5LOTo3yDXN
#science #kernfusion #fusionenergy

The 7th Forum Fusion will bring together leading figures from research, the start-up scene, industry, the Federal Ministry of Research and the European Commission. Registration and further information about the programme: www.filo.kit.edu

A technician in white clean-room clothing performs maintenance inside the highly complex, metallic plasma vessel of the Wendelstein 7-X fusion experiment in Greifswald. The image shows the reflective, tile-covered inner walls of the stellarator (photo taken in November 2025).

Our Wendelstein 7-X stellarator is about to celebrate an anniversary!
www.ipp.mpg.de/5585948/10ja...

Key visual of the Fusion Academy with the date 22-27 March 2026 and the location Garching. Message: Paving the Way for Tomorrow's Fusion Experts

Are you studying a STEM subject in Germany and can you imagine working on the development of a fusion power plant in the future? Then apply here: info.bmftr-fusionsforschung.de/-lp/8PD60325...

Steht das erste Fusionskraftwerk der Welt in Deutschland? Macht China das Rennen? Oder haben die USA die Nase vorn? Der NZZ-Podcast „Quantensprung“ gibt einen Überblick über wichtige Akteure der Fusionsforschung. www.nzz.ch/podcast/kern...

YouTube video by MaxPlanckSociety Kernfusion im Tokamak: Kryopumpe, Bootstrapstrom, Dauerbetrieb – Doku

Die MPG hat einen wunderbaren Film über einen Messtag bei ASDEX Upgrade gedreht. Premiere am 24.9.2025 um 16 Uhr mit Live-Chat. Lohnt sich!
youtu.be/tdfl3F3tESI?...

A voltage accelerates spontaneously ionised particles, they cause further ionisation. >0.06s: a ring-shaped current flows. >0.15s: the particles bound to magnetic field lines interact with cold edge layer. 0.35s: temperature in the centre >10 million degrees. >0.5s: plasma has reached final form.

MS Wissenschaft - wir sind mit Extraprogramm in Straubing. Es gibt Plasma zum Anfassen, ihr könnt einen Elektromagnet basteln und virtuelle Einblicke in unsere Kernfusionsexperimente bekommen. Freitag (12.09.) ab 14:00 Uhr, Samstag (13.09.) von 10-18:00 Uhr. ms-wissenschaft.de #Straubing

We opened the vacuum vessel of ASDEX Upgrade and found a white crystal layer. It forms through chemical reactions between water and boron, introduced during the regular boronisation process. We sprayed distilled water and wiped it off with a cloth. The layer appears after each experiment campaign.

IPP Develops Superconducting Coil Models for Future Fusion Power Plants

In the HTS4Fusion project, the IPP is working with THEVA Dünnschichttechnik and FRM II to develop robust magnetic coils for future fusion power plants based on high-temperature superconductors (HTS). The first models are being built at IPP in Garching. www.ipp.mpg.de/5548072/hts4... #fusionenergy

Plasma beats at Expo 2025 Osaka: ASDEX Upgrade data turned into an audiovisual show. A Berlin-based artist duo used measurement pulses from ASDEX Upgrade to design a monumental sound and light show. The ITER Organisation presented it on 13 July as part of Fusion Energy Day in Osaka. #fusionenergy

Last Friday, representatives of one of the most influential executive networks in German economy visited our institute in Garching. The 40 members of the Baden-Baden Entrepreneur Talks were also informed about Bavaria's high-tech agenda by Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister of State for Science.

Federal Minister Bär (right) talking to Sibylle Günter, Scientific Director of the IPP, in the control room of ASDEX Upgrade.

Today, Federal Minister of Research Dorothee Bär visited us in Garching. After meeting IPP directors, she toured the ASDEX Upgrade fusion facility and learned about the status of fusion research.
Photo: Mrs Bär (right) & Sibylle Günter, IPP's Scientific Director
#fusionenergy #nuclearfusion

Congratulations to the four winners of the IPP Master's Thesis Prize 2025, which we awarded on Thursday. With this prize, we annually honor the authors of outstanding master's theses written at our institute. #nuclearfusion #fusionenergy

Through collaboration between European and US researchers, Wendelstein 7-X achieved a world record for the central parameter of fusion physics - the triple product. This value surpasses the previous tokamak records for long plasma durations. www.ipp.mpg.de/5532945/w7x

SharePic: Foto der Fusionsforschungsanlage Wendelstein 7X - Text: 30 Jahre, 30 Stories / Unsere Mission: Energie gewinnen wie in der Sonne

Die Sonne als Vorbild: In Greifswald erforscht das @plasmaphysik.bsky.social gemeinsam mit den Helmholtz-Zentren @kit.edu und @fz-juelich.de die Energiequelle von morgen.

Jetzt mehr erfahren: t1p.de/bbntt #Helmholtz30 #Fusion

Thursday marked the end of the experimental campaign that have been running since last fall. After tightly choreographed plasma runs at Wendelstein 7-X, our international team is leaving the control room - tired, proud, & full of enthusiasm. #fusionenergy #nuclearfusion @eurofusion.bsky.social

Did you know that nuclear fusion plasmas are heated with waves – similar to a microwave oven, but way more powerful?
This week, 130 scientists, engineers and industry representatives from around the world meet at Schloss Hohenkammer to discuss latest advances. #fusionenergy #nuclearfusion

What we see glowing in our fusion experiments is just the cooler edge of the plasma with "only" 100,000 degrees Celsius. For a fusion reaction, we need more than 100 million degrees – hotter than the Sun. The radiation emitted in that inner plasma zone is invisible to the human eye. #dayoflight

European Labs Leading Fusion Research with high-intensity operational phases—an extraordinary push toward #FusionEnergy!

Read more: euro-fusion.org/eurofusion-n...

#EUROfusion #CleanEnergy #Innovation #Sustainability

Day 1 of the Hannover Messe: Federal Research Minister Cem Özdemir visited our stand yesterday. Physicist Humberto Trimino Mora informed him about the state of fusion research.
We will be in Hall 2, Stand 28 (BMBF joint stand) until Friday.
Photo: BMBF/Hans-Joachim Rickel #nuclearfusion #kernfusion

Congrats to Benedikt Zimmermann on the PhD Research Award from EPS Plasma Physics Division. Benedikt conducted his doctoral research on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak at our institute in Garching. #fusionenergy #nuclearfusion

Milestone achieved in predicting turbulence in fusion plasmas

#Nuclearfusion: Milestone achieved in predicting turbulence in fusion plasmas
In a comprehensive experimental study, a team of researchers has confirmed the calculations of a leading turbulence simulation code to an unprecedented degree. www.ipp.mpg.de/5503641/natu...

How do we handle extreme conditions at the plasma edge? A monumental scientific review, co-authored by our institute, summarises latest advances in scrape-off layer & divertor physics—crucial for #ITER & future reactors. doi.org/10.1088/1741... #FusionEnergy #nuclearfusion Film: ASDEX Upgrade

YouTube video by Urknall, Weltall und das Leben Rekorde in der Fusionsforschung • 22 Minuten Plasmaentladung! | Hartmut Zohm

17,7 und 22 Minuten stabile Plasmaentladung: Warum die jüngsten Rekorde in den Fusionsanlagen EAST (China) und WEST (Frankreich) echte Meilensteine sind, erklärt IPP-Direktor Hartmut Zohm in diesem Video. #Kernfusion #nuclearfusion #fusionenergy
youtu.be/uNAu9V0dFas?...

YouTube video by Urknall, Weltall und das Leben Rekorde in der Fusionsforschung • 22 Minuten Plasmaentladung! | Hartmut Zohm

Good explanation by Prof.Zohm from @plasmaphysik.bsky.social regarding plasma discharge duration of W 7-X, EAST and WEST - auch mit deutscher Erklärung, Rekorde bei Plasmaentladungsdauer youtu.be/uNAu9V0dFas?...

WEST beats the world record for plasma duration 👏

🔗 Read more about CEA IRFM achievement: https://buff.ly/4b5drrs

#WEST #Record #EUROfusion #EURATOM #fusion #plasma

Photo credits: CEA