DIFFER

We are DIFFER: science for future energy. www.differ.nl 🎞 Rekel Producties #science #futureenergy #fusionenergy #chemicalenergy

Today it is #Prinsjesdag, the start of the new parliamentary year. As one of the ten NWO research institutes, DIFFER shares NWO's message: Cherish our knowledge and choose a resilient and future-proof Netherlands. Knowledge is the foundation for new ideas, insights and applications, and thus contributes to addressing the major issues we face. For DIFFER this means: conducting science for our future energy. Not just on Prinsjesdag, but 365 days a year. #prinsjesdag #kiesvoorkennis #onderzoek #wetenschap NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek)

Are you a Dutch physics teacher? Then join the 6th edition of the European Fusion Teacher Day on Friday 10 October 2025! During this online event, organised by FuseNet Association, you will learn more about nuclear fusion and get excited about the field of fusion at the secondary education level. ✔️ DIFFER and Technische Universiteit Eindhoven will give a joint presentation on nuclear fusion research. ✔️ Via a global livestream (free) educational materials will be presented to you. ✔️ Keynote speakers from the international fusion community will give an inside look into large scientific collaborations: EPFL tokamak tour & ITER tokamak tour. More information and registration: https://lnkd.in/eh83BRFi #physics #teacher #science #research #europe #VO #natuurkunde #kernfusie #nuclearfusion #energy #event ITER Organization Swiss Plasma Center at EPFL Myra van Nunen Egbert Westerhof Thomas Bosman Roger Jaspers

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 👏 International experiments at the UK fusion machine MAST Upgrade in Culham, led by Dutch researchers, demonstrate how the innovative 'Super-X' design offers major advantages in handling the heat exhaust of fusion energy machines. Successfully managing the exhaust is one of the major hurdles in realising fusion energy. The results have been published in the top-tier journals Communication Physics and Nature Energy. Kevin Verhaegh, TU/e, Science and Technology of Nuclear Fusion (AP): “These results bode well for a variety of future projects like the UK's STEP machine, the US machine ARC and the European DEMO. We were able to show that even a modest, yet strategic, modification of the divertor can already offer many of the benefits of more extreme divertor geometries. As such extreme geometries are more difficult to realise in a power plant, these results open new pathways to improving the design of future fusion machines.” Bob Kool, DIFFER and TU/e, Control System Technology (ME): “These results clearly demonstrate the many benefits that alternative divertors can offer in maintaining acceptable divertor conditions in fusion power plants. This is major step in solving the exhaust problem and ultimately brings us closer to realising fusion energy.” James Harrison, Head of MAST Upgrade Science, UKAEA: "Demonstrating that the plasma conditions in the divertors of MAST Upgrade can be controlled independently is an important advancement towards developing robust control of plasma exhaust in future machines. These exciting results were made possible by strong international collaborations between the UKAEA, TU Eindhoven, DIFFER and EUROfusion teams that will continue pushing the boundaries of our understanding in this important area of research." Publications: 📄 Publication Communications Physics: https://lnkd.in/e_8m6JP7 📄 Publication Nature Energy: https://lnkd.in/eZGscCWw 📄 Blogpost Kevin Verhaegh: https://lnkd.in/ef4_rUZf Curious to read more? ➡️ English: https://lnkd.in/e6pe8pCG ➡️ Dutch: https://lnkd.in/eC8eBKzy DIFFER Technische Universiteit Eindhoven Control Systems Technology (CST) TU/e Department of Applied Physics & Science Education UK Atomic Energy Authority EUROfusion Swiss Plasma Center at EPFL Marco De Baar Egbert Westerhof Matthijs van Berkel 📸 Kevin Verhaegh and Bob Kool (picture by Bart van Overbeeke) #fusion #energy #science #research

📺 Perhaps you have already seen DIFFER's virtual tour: the perfect way to 'visit' our institute whenever and wherever you want. It's one of the ways to show you how we work on science for future energy. We are happy to tell you that interesting updates are on their way! Today, photographer Corne Clemens visited DIFFER to make new panorama pictures of our chemical energy labs, the brand new PLD facility we're building and other research equipment. ✨️ Soon we will show you the results, so stay tuned... Thanks to all colleagues who participated and to our creative partner Rekel Producties for this collaboration! #science #communication #energy #research #photography #virtualvisit

📢 Interesting PhD openings within our Chemical Energy department! Are you ready to shape the future of nuclear materials? 𝗣𝗵𝗗 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗟-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e5uX7CwD Are you passionate about AI and automation? 𝗣𝗵𝗗 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eVKeMnFG Closing date vacancies: 30 September Starting date: January 2026 #chemicalenergy #energy #AI #PhD #job #vacancy #science

🚀 From Experiments to Energy: The Future of Fusion Power Plants 🔬⚡️ 💡 What does it take to go from today's complex fusion experiments to tomorrow’s easy-to-operate power plants? - 🛡️ Nuclear safety - 📝 Suitable planning and testing - 👥 Large manpower today → 🤖 Easy-to-operate power plants tomorrow - 🔧 Proper commissioning, not one-of-a-kind facilities - 📋 Fully fledged concept of operations: training, certification, management, software - 🎓 Training courses bridge the gap to Next Gen facilities - 🤝 Industrial partners as suppliers & training experts 👉 Fusion expert Dr. Fernanda Rimini answers our questions in this interview. Read about planning early and preparing a new generation of experts and learnings from nuclear and petrochemical industries. 👉 Full interview link 🔗 https://lnkd.in/diYD6YFR #FusionEnergy #EUROfusion #JET #ITER #NextGenFusion #WomenInSTEM #Tokamak #CleanEnergy #EnergyFuture #NuclearFusion #ScienceForTheFuture

The harsh environment inside future fusion power plants demands wall materials that do not crack or melt under the intense conditions. To tackle this challenge, researchers are exploring liquid metals like lithium and ask themselves: “Can we have lithium in a plasma facing component?” 👏 On 9 July 2025 Maria Morbey successfully defended her thesis on this topic. Morbey: “Liquid lithium has several advantages: it can ‘self-heal’ from damage, spread heat more evenly through vapor shielding, and reduce impurities in the plasma. It also melts at relatively low temperatures, making it easier to handle.” However, lithium has a downside. It tends to chemically bind with hydrogen isotopes, including tritium, the radioactive fuel used in fusion. When tritium gets trapped in the reactor walls, it becomes difficult to recover, which is a problem because tritium is both rare and valuable. To better understand this issue, Morbey studied how lithium interacts with deuterium, a non-radioactive stand-in for tritium: “I conducted experiments in several fusion research facilities, including the DIII-D tokamak at General Atomics in the U.S. and the Magnum-PSI facility at DIFFER in the Netherlands.” 💡 Are you curious about the results? Read more about Morbey's research ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eee9ypKk 📸 Bart van Overbeeke #science #futureenergy #fusion #hydrogen #lithium #energy #research #promotion #phd Beata Tyburska-Pueschel Thomas Morgan Marco De Baar

We are happy to be part of the HyCARB consortium, which just received over €35 million in funding (hurray!). #DIFFER #Hydrogen #HyCARB

Stijn Kobussen has been awarded the FuseNet Master Thesis Prize 2024 for his master's project at DIFFER! His project concerned 1D modelling of the scrape-off layer for discharges on the Upgraded Mega Ampére Spherical Tokamak (MAST-U). Stijn is the first to have constructed a self-consistent physics-based model that matches exhaust dynamics in response to gas injection modulations in so-called system-identification experiments. We are delighted that Stijn is continuing his journey at DIFFER as a PhD-candidate. Congratulations to Stijn, Riccardo, and Robert. #DIFFER #FuseNet