FCT Digital Services
Activity Funded
Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion
Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear
Details
Reference
UID/PRR/50010/2025
UID/PRR/50010/2025
Project Start Date
2025-01-01
2025-01-01
Project End Date
2026-07-10
2026-07-10
AB1B-A7D9-C6BC 
0000-0003-0670-1214
Funding Program
Avaliação UID 2023/2024 PRR
Avaliação UID 2023/2024 PRR
Abstract
Will we ever harness the energy of the stars on Earth? What are the sources of gamma-ray bursts recorded throughout the universe? Can one use plasma acceleration and other plasma-based techniques to develop compact accelerators for use at the energy frontier, in medicine, in probing materials, and in novel light sources for bioimaging? Can we use non-equilibrium plasma features to make clean fuels and fertilizers? Can the plasma medium enable the production of unique nanostructures, tailored for multiple applications? The answers to these and many other questions are the scope of Plasma Science and Engineering, a multidisciplinary area encompassing some of the most exciting fundamental and applied research themes in today's scientific landscape, with extraordinarily broad impact (see 2020 Plasma Decadal Survey of NAS).
Plasma science is often a key component of many other disciplines, including nanoscience, atomic and molecular physics, surface physics, biophysics, astrophysics, and space and materials science and there is an upsurge of innovative activity in the field.
"Instituto de Plasmas e Fusa~o Nuclear" (IPFN) is a Research Unit of "Instituto Superior Te´cnico" (IST) with expertise in Plasma Physics, Engineering and Technologies, Controlled Nuclear Fusion, Lasers and Photonics and Advanced Computing. IPFN is the sole Portuguese R&D institution in the field of Plasma Science and Engineering, one of the top Physics laboratories in the country (hosting researchers based at different Portuguese universities), accumulating experience of 25 years in R&D. IPFN has an ambitious research program with a balance between activities motivated by contemporary scientific problems (curiosity-driven) and a varied portfolio of technological applications (application-driven). This program is supported by an institutional strategy with 4 main vectors: internationalization through peer recognition of competencies in several fields and participation in high-profile projects; national reach with the integration of researchers from several universities; strong commitment to high-level education and advanced training; and creation of reference research infrastructures.
IPFN has built recognition, focused on building outstanding teams with the critical mass to foster scientific and technological excellence in an international context, providing a unique setting for world-class research, technological transfer, and advanced training, with the required multidisciplinarity to be competitive in the participation to ambitious international reference EU large-scale physics projects (e.g. ITER, IFMIF-Dones, ELI, and ESA).
IPFN is a research unit with a clear roadmap, ambitious goals and a solid scientific reputation supported by a dynamic team with a strong determination to continue at the forefront of research in the field of nuclear fusion and plasma technologies.
Institutions
Main Institutions
- Universidade de Lisboa Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear (IPFN)
- Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico (ULISBOA IST)
Other Institutions
- Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento (IST-ID)
- Universidade da Madeira (UMA)
Funding 1.347.385,76 €
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal
0,00 €
União Europeia - Estrutura de Missão Recuperar Portugal (UE - EMRP)
1.347.385,76 €