digilab and Next Step Fusion visit BSC Fusion

Nuclear fusion is going from strength to strength, with several technological breakthroughs in recent years, including the ability to build high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets that can generate high magnetic fields with almost no energy loss. This is important not only because it increases the obvious net energy production, but also because it may be possible to build more compact magnetic fusion devices such as tokamaks and stellarators. The dimensions of these machines are much smaller than those of ITER, and this has attracted the attention of industry in a variety of ways, from larger and more experienced companies focused on manufacturing, to a proliferation of start-ups focused on novel reactor designs and software modelling.

Part of the industry is developing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to fusion problems. Two of these companies, digilab and Next Step Fusion, have recently visited the Fusion Group at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center headquarters.

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Our Participation in the Spanish National Fusion Strategy

National Strategy Planning meeting

On 14 October, the Spanish National Fusion Strategy Planning Meeting was held at the CDTI headquarters in Madrid. The meeting brought together most of the fusion stakeholders in the Spanish fusion ecosystem, from research institutions such as CIEMAT or BSC to companies in the fusion sector. With all the relevant advances in fusion that have accelerated the path towards its commercialisation, many countries are either reviewing or creating their own strategy. This was therefore a very timely meeting to define the role that Spain intends to play in the near future, at a time when private investors and industry are closer than ever to fusion.

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BSC hosts the annual EUROfusion HPC ACHs meeting

From 27 to 28 November, our Fusion Group had the honor of hosting the 2nd Annual Meeting of the EUROfusion HPC Advanced Computing Hubs (ACHs) at Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Spain. After a successful virtual first meeting, this event marked a significant return to in-person collaboration, bringing together around 29 researchers, 26 attending in person and 3 connecting virtually, from the five Hub centers: BSC-CIEMAT (Spain), EPFL (Switzerland), IPPLM (Poland), IPP Garching (Germany), and VTT (Finland).

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Our Contributed Talks at the 5th Fusion HPC Workshop

5th Fusion HPC Workshop

On November 21st and 22nd, our team members Pau Manyer and Hernán Domingo had the pleasure of attending the 5th Fusion HPC Workshop, each giving a contributed talk to share their work.

This year, the workshop featured over 30 talks on computer applications using High-Performance Computing (HPC) in the field of fusion research, and more than 320 participants from 44 countries following the online event.

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2024 EUROfusion E-TASC General Meeting

The campus of the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany, served as the venue for the EUROfusion E-TASC General Meeting.

In the context of the EUROfusion consortium, a programme has been established with the objective of coordinating theoretical and advanced simulation activities in order to address some of the inherent challenges associated with fusion research. This initiative is designated “E-TASC,” an acronym for “EUROfusion-Theory and Advanced Simulation Coordination.” The E-TASC is structured around two interrelated components: (1) specific projects, designated as Theory-Simulation-Verification-Validation (TSVV) Tasks, facilitate fundamental research in science, engineering, and technology that addresses pivotal questions pertaining to the fusion roadmap missions; and (2) Advanced Computing Hubs (ACHs) which provide scientific computing, data management, code integration, and/or software engineering support for the TSVVs and contribute to the development of a new portfolio of EUROfusion Standard Software for the R&D program in support of ITER, associated facilities, and DEMO design.

The EUROfusion E-TASC General Meeting was held between November 11 and November 16 at the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Garching, Munich, Germany. The Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics is one of the largest fusion research centers in Europe.

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