PARTNERS: CNR, ENEA, INFN, Università di Padova, Acciaierie Venete SpA
We are taking part in the GRAND CHALLENGE of international research that aims to ensure everyone a NEW SOURCE OF clean, abundant and safe ENERGY, for a better quality of life in the coming decades, through RESEARCH, TRAINING and INNOVATION.
“We are born from a history of innovation and commitment to practical progress that has allowed us to grow and become the international point of reference in the scientific sectors we are developing. We combine physics and engineering skills, but we are also children of art, literature and music. Protecting our environment is our fundamental goal. We are open to new challenges and to develop collaborations without preconceived borders or limits.”
The RFX Group
About 200 PERSONNEL
of which half are PHYSICS and ENGINEERING researchers, and half are TECHNICIANS and ADMINISTRATORS;
we operate experiments, develop technology, devise theoretical models, all in close collaboration with the international scientific community.
Our MISSION
to advance in the understanding of plasmas
Our objective is to CONTRIBUTE TO THE GLOBAL ENDEAVOR of the development of fusion as a primary energy source that is abundant, safe and eco-sustainable. In the persuit of this goal, the Consorzio RFX offers opportunities in research, training and innovation, expanding scientific knowledge of fusion-relevant plasma physics and advancing the technological frontiers of research facilities. This mission is carried out, in particular, by participating in the ITER project and in the activites of the European Union Fusion Program.
Some DATA
History
1958 – Early research on ionized gases (plasmas)
1979 – The Eta-Beta II machine produces fundamental scientific results
1992 – First plasma, in RFP configuration, on the RFX machine
1996 – Consorzio RFX established
2003 – Start of research on neutral particle injection (NBI)
2004 – The RFX-mod machine experimentally demonstrates the self-organization of plasma in RFP configuration
2011 – Launch of the ITER-NBTF project
2018 – Inaugural experiment of ITER-SPIDER
Headquarters
Consorzio RFX in the CNR Research Area,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4 – 35127 Padua (Italy)
18.600 m2 – Total occupied area
10.600 m2 – RFX building, offices and storage
8.000 m2 – NBTF plant
Publications
2274 publications registered by Scopus from 2000 to 2019
152 publications registered by Scopus since 2019
Certification
Consorzio RFX is in possession of ISO 9001 quality certification since 2011
Quick links
Organization structure
Visit the lab
Admission to the Doctorate in Fusion Science and Engineering
Current vacancies
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WHAT we do
OUR RESEARCH is progressed along THREE MAIN LINES OF ACTIVITY, strongly interconnected with each other:
The development of the PARTICLE BEAM INJECTION system as the main heating and current induction system in fusion reactors.
Consorzio RFX has constructed and is host to the Neutral Beam Test Facility, for experimentation, development and testing of the concepts adopted for the ITER injectors. Together with the experimental campaigns and the necessary technological advances, we carry out an intense complementary activity of modeling the particle beam and the interaction between the beam and the plasma.
The advancement of the SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF FUSION PLASMAS
with experimentation on the largest existing “Reversed Field Pinch” device, called RFX-mod2, with the participation in the scientific exploitation of the European Tokamak and Stellarator devices, and in the realization and finally operation of new experimental plants (in particular DTT and JT-60 SA).
Participation in the European conceptual design activities of the future DEMO demonstration reactor, including socio-economic aspects.
Consorzio RFX aims to transmit the knowledge gained through our research activity to a new generation of researchers, physicists and engineers, who are competent and prepared to pursue careers in fusion research and the industrial applications of fusion technologies.
For this purpose, internal researchers are engaged as full professors in various courses of interest to fusion, offered in the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree courses in Physics and Engineering at the University of Padua. As part of this, we propose degree theses hosting numerous students every year. We also manage the joint Doctorate in Fusion Science and Technology of the University of Padua and we compliment our training offer with the proposal of Erasmus, schools and internships on various topics of Physics and Plasma Engineering, for pre-graduate and doctoral students.
Innovation is the objective linked to the production world that is involved in the design and development of advanced technologies necessary for the realization of fusion, but which have found and will find future useful application in other production contexts.
The scientific goals of the laboratory and the paths identified for achieving them become the content of our communication and outreach activity that we develop within the framework of a broad international collaboration.
Consorzio RFX dedicates great attention to the public dissemination of research results and education on the essential knowledge on the possible role of fusion in an eco-compatible energy system.
The power of the Sun in ART
Fusion occurs naturally in stars, where hydrogen fuses into helium. We have chosen some images that transmit through art this immense energy that “our” star, the Sun, gives us.
