Clean, abundant and affordable energy is the prerequisite for human prosperity. This dream will become reality when the physical process by which the sun produces its energy is mastered by the scientists and engineers. This physical process is called Fusion and for many decades a large number of European Research Centres and Universities are working towards the goal of utilizing Fusion for electricity production. The European effort is materialized through the Framework Programs in which all the European states participate.
The General Secretariat for Research and Innovation has mandated the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (NCSRD) for the Management of the Greek participation in the European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy, EUROfusion. In this project, co-funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation and the European Commission, in addition to NCSRD eight affiliated Greek Universities participate.
The continuation of the EUROfusion project within the European Framework Programme 2021 – 2027, Horizon Europe, was signed on the 15th December 2021. Therefore, in the next seven years Greek scientists together with their colleagues from the other European Institutions will participate in different research areas with the goal to develop fusion energy.
The research activities of the Fusion Technology Group of NCSRD, with the participation of three NCSRD Institutes, will be focused on radiation damage studies of fusion materials aiming at the development of radiation resistant materials, the understanding of plasma interaction with plasma facing materials, the development of neutron detectors for the breeding blanket as well as neutron transport and radiological calculations and measurements. A number of undergraduate, MSc and PhD students will be trained in fusion related areas.