With a crowded room and a programme that captivated until the last minute, we look back on a successful first edition of the Dutch Fusion Day in Eindhoven. An energising day that brought together a group of 200 scientists, representatives of high-tech companies and government officials. One thing was crystal clear: we're all eager to get into action to bring fusion energy to a next level. Read more:
- First Dutch Fusion Day in Eindhoven: ‘We need Dutchness to make fusion energy become a reality’ (TU/e EIRES and DIFFER)
- “What role does TU/e want to play in the realization of nuclear fusion energy?” (TU/e Cursor)
Speakers and presentations
Josefine Proll, Eindhoven University of Technology
Josefine Proll is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). After Bachelors and Masters degrees in Würzburg, Germany, and London, UK, respectively, she obtained her PhD in 2014 at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany. She did PostDocs at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics as well as Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, after which she started her position at TU Eindhoven in 2017. In her work, Josefine investigates turbulent transport in the plasma core, and investigates how the shape of the confining magnetic field influences the turbulence. download presentation
Sven Wiesen, DIFFER
Sven Wiesen is group leader of the integrated modelling group of DIFFER’s fusion department. Before appointed by DIFFER, he was research associate at the Forschungszentrum Julich (Germany) and worked in the field of plasma exhaust modelling. For about 8 years at JET he coordinated exhaust modelling activities and as deputy Task Force leader he contributed to JET’s experimental program. He is member of the ITER scientist fellowship network and is co-chair of the ITPA DivSOL topical group. In recent years, Sven is pushing forward towards new methodologies in the field of modelling, especially on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques. download presentation
Behnam Taebi, Delft University of Technology
Behnam Taebi is Professor of Energy & Climate Ethics at TU Delft. He further leads TU Delft | The Hague, which aims to bring engineering closer to the heart of public policy and politics. Taebi studied Material Science and Engineering and received his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Technology. He is co-editor of the volume The Ethics of Nuclear Energy (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and the author of a monograph on Ethics and Engineering. An Introduction (Cambridge University Press, 2021). He was a member of the committee that was responsible for the advisory report ‘Splitting the atom, splitting opinions’ (in Dutch: Splijtstof - Rli, 2022). download presentation
Hans van Oort, University of Twente
After 30+ years in applied superconductivity research and industry, Hans joined the University of Twente in 2023 as full professor and chairman of the Energy, Systems and Materials group, with the aim to develop the required technological building blocks for a sustainable future of high current superconducting applications in research and industry. His focus is on novel superconducting cable research, integration with innovative cooling technologies, and the development of stable quench free and helium free systems for medical systems, accelerators and fusion. download presentation
Erik Offerman, Delft University of Technology
Erik Offerman works as an associate professor at the department of materials science and Engineering of TU Delft. The aim of his research is to develop understanding of the behaviour of metals at the level of the microstructure, with a focus on steel, when subjected to conditions of elevated temperatures, mechanical loading, radiation and combinations thereof. download presentation
Ambrogio Fasoli, EUROfusion
Professor Ambrogio Fasoli is the Programme Manager (CEO) of the EUROfusion Consortium, the Director of the Swiss Plasma Center at EPFL, and the Delegate to the Provost of EPFL.
Ambrogio Fasoli, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, studied at the University of Milan and obtained his Ph.D. at EPFL, then, after conducting experiments on the JET tokamak in the UK, became a professor at MIT, in the US, where he worked from 1997 to 2001, before being appointed at EPFL. From 2014 through 2020 he has been the Editor-in-Chief of the IAEA Nuclear Fusion journal. download presentation
Cyrille Mai Thanh, Fusion Industry Association
Cyrille has been appointed EU Affairs Director at the Fusion Industry Association in January 2024. Based in Brussels, he drives the association’s advocacy efforts in the EU to accelerate the commercialisation of fusion energy. He supports the FIA with positioning, political communication, and stakeholder engagement. A public affairs professional, Cyrille gained valuable experience working at Dentons Global Advisors, Veolia and Solvay where he was responsible for designing and implementing advocacy strategies towards EU institutions on a broad range of sustainability issues. Cyrille studied European Studies at The Hague University and speaks fluently English, French, and Spanish. download presentation
Valerie Jamieson, The Fusion Cluster
Valerie manages The Fusion Cluster in the UK, bringing the right organisations and people together to get to fusion faster. Her role is to raise awareness of fusion, encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation between companies and organisations interested in fusion energy and all the exciting technologies that make it happen. She joined the UK Atomic Energy Authority in 2021 after many years at New Scientist and has a PhD in particle physics from the University of Glasgow. download presentation
Matthew Smith, Trinomics BV
Matthew Smith is an energy economist and senior consultant at Trinomics, with more than 15 years experience in public policy consultancy. He has led various studies on fusion energy in recent years, including evaluating the impact of EU funding of ITER, the future of the Broader Approach, Fusion Foresight scenarios and the most recent study on a potential future EU public-private partnership instrument for fusion innovation. Through this work and speaking with leading stakeholders in the public and private sector he has developed a strong overview of the sector, its potential and challenges and possible scenarios for future development. download presentation
Benjamin Perier, Fusion for Energy
Benjamin Perier holds a Master Grande Ecole from Montpellier Business School, has completed executive education in Negotiation at INSEAD and is a certified Coach with a Master in Coaching and Leadership from the University of Barcelona.
He has extensive experience in Market Analysis and Supply Shain management across various sectors. Currently, he serves as Head of Market Analysis and Technology Transfer at FUSION FOR ENERGY. Benjamin previously held roles at AIRBUS and AXA, managing procurement strategies and leading project teams. download presentation
Milena Roveda, Gauss Fusion
Milena Roveda brings more than 30 years of experience in the management, development and expansion of companies worldwide. Her career speaks for itself: she has worked for leading global players such as Bayer and Thyssenkrupp and has in-depth expertise in finance and the strategic alignment of businesses through her work at C-level for portfolio companies of the Carlyle Group, EQT and Investcorp. With her entrepreneurial drive and innovative thinking, Milena champions revolutionary ideas and forms alliances to find new ways for fusion to achieve sustainable success. download presentation
Dutch Fusion Day poll
Which organisations were present? When will the first fusion plant deliver power to customers? What do organisations need to (further) contribute to the realisation of fusion for energy? What strengths are present in the Netherlands that need to get more (international) attention from scientists, governments and entrepreneurs? What is definitely needed in a public-private ecosystem to ensure support from Dutch science and industry? Your answers to all these questions can be found in this Mentimeter overview.
Let's continue the journey
We hope to see you again next year, please subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed on the next Dutch Fusion Day.
In the meantime, we'd like to share these interesting events with you:
- If you would like to further follow the international fusion trends, you could have a look at FUSION24.
- BigScienceNL organises a Dutch booth on two conferences: the SOFT24 in Dublin and the BSBF 2024 in Trieste. If your company would like to participate, please contact Paul Hieltjes via p [368] hieltjes [28] differ [368] nl (p[dot]hieltjes[at]differ[dot]nl).
- After many years DIFFER will be organising another Open Day! Please bring your colleagues, kids, family and friends, it's going to be great fun. Read more on the DIFFER website.
