University of York launches £3.7m research centre
A WORLD leading centre aiming to encourage new collaboration between industry and scientists in fusion energy and plasma research will be opened in Yorkshire next week.
The £3.7m York Plasma Institute will bring together scientists looking at applications for plasma – the ionised gas found in TV sights and flourescent light bulbs – and experts in fusion energy -recreating the process that generates energy in the Sun on earth to provide a new source of electricity.
Professor Brian Cantor, vice-chancellor of the University of York, said: “Our vision is to establish a world-leading interdisciplinary plasma physics research and training institute.
“We want to inspire partnerships between industry and universities and encourage start-up companies, maximising the value of the research and its impact on society.”
The York Plasma Institute is part of the University’s Department of Physics and is part-funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
For decades scientists have been attempting to use fusion reactions as a way of creating an effectively limitless supply of energy. Construction is underway in France of ITER, the largest ever fusion device.
York Plasma institute director Professor Howard Wilson, said: “With the construction of the international fusion facility ITER, the largest international science project on Earth, fusion is entering an exciting new era.
“It takes fusion beyond a scientific study, requiring closer collaboration between scientists, engineers and industry to address the remaining scientific and technological questions and deliver energy to the grid. The philosophy of the York Plasma Institute embraces this collaborative approach: it is a really exciting time for us.”
