IPP, Columbia University establish international fusion research center

The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Germany and Columbia University have established a new, "virtual," joint transatlantic fusion energy research center called the Max Planck Columbia Center. The center is being directed by both IPP director Thomas Klinger and Columbia University associate professor of applied physics and applied mathematics Carlos Paz-Soldan. Paz-Soldan also serves as director of the Columbia Fusion Research Center.

Founded with the theme of "Optimizing Symmetry in Fusion Plasmas," the center has been given a budget of $13.3 million for a period of five years, beginning in 2027. This funding is being provided by IPP; Columbia University; the Department of Energy's Office of Fusion Energy Sciences; and Simons Foundation International, a philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences.

Also participating in the Max Planck Columbia Center are a number of private companies that are developing fusion demonstration projects, including Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Proxima Fusion, Thea Energy, and Type One Energy.

Concrete collaboration in a virtual center: The new fusion research center is one of seven new virtual international centers that the Max Planck Society is establishing this year. With an initial timeframe of five years and the option to extend, these innovative centers enable Max Planck researchers to collaborate with research partners around the world.

A key focus of the Max Planck Columbia Center is the international exchange of early-career researchers, including students, doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral researchers, who will be able to spend as much as one year at IPP in Germany or at Columbia in New York City. The researchers will also have access to IPP's Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Greifswald and ASDEX Upgrade tokamak in Garching.

In association with the center, Columbia is creating a two-year fixed-term assistant professor position. It will include both research and teaching responsibilities and will be filled twice by appointment during the center's designated five-year operating period.

The scientific program behind the center consists of six "major work packages," which IPP describes as follows:

Stellarator Power Exhaust, to address the "still partly unresolved challenge of power and particle exhaust in optimized stellarators."

Hybrid Tokamak-Stellarators, to "develop a hybrid concept combining features of stellarators and tokamaks."

Simulation of Transients, to "investigate plasma transients in tokamaks and stellarators using computer simulations."

Non-Planar Superconducting Magnets, to focus "on the engineering development of high- and low-temperature superconducting magnets."

Energetic Particles in Stellarators, to improve "the understanding of interactions between energetic particles and Alfvénic modes."

Edge Stability of Tokamaks, to "conduct coordinated experiments and perform multi-machine modeling of large edge instabilities in tokamaks."

They said it: On the creation of the Max Planck Columbia Center, Klinger said that it "will bring together two leading institutions in plasma physics and fusion research. We aim to combine the strengths of tokamaks and stellarators to address key scientific and technological questions on the path toward a fusion power plant. It is particularly important to me that early-career researchers gain international experience at a world-class university and build lasting scientific networks from an early stage in their careers."

Paz-Soldan said that he is "delighted to see the partnership between Columbia Engineering and the Max Planck Society grow and deepen. The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics is a preeminent group in the field and operates world-leading facilities. In partnership, we will be able to provide unique opportunities both to develop the fusion workforce and to advance key open scientific questions on the path to fusion energy."