Técnico and Next Step Fusion will be partners in the development of energy and fusion research. The two institutions will focus on improving plasma control in Técnico’s ISTTOK tokamak device. As part of this agreement, the school will have access to state-of-the-art real-time plasma control systems supported by machine learning.

According to Bruno Soares, a Técnico researcher and President of the Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN), “efficient plasma control remains one of the most challenging aspects of developing fusion devices. With access to real-time control systems and advanced simulation, the predictability of plasma behaviour can reach new heights”. This partnership will provide scientists with “new data, tools, and systems to enhance the scientific progress of our fusion facility”, he adds.

Aleksei Zolotarev, Founder and CEO of Next Step Fusion, believes that this agreement “initiates a new era in fusion research in Portugal and Europe. With modern technologies and platforms using machine learning and data from multiple fusion devices worldwide, we may be at a turning point to unlock the full potential of fusion”.

The ISTTOK tokamak at Instituto Superior Técnico, a research infrastructure of IPFN, operational since 1990, is Portugal’s sole fusion device. ISTTOK’s main goals, beyond education and training in nuclear fusion, include cutting-edge engineering and technology advancements, the development of new diagnostic techniques, control and data acquisition concepts, and physics modelling.

*This text was written in collaboration with the Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN)