History

Chronology

1960
founded as Institut für Plasmaphysik GmbH, a
partnership of the Max Planck Society and
Prof. Dr. Werner Heisenberg
(Fig.1)

1960
The Wendelstein 1a stellarator goes into operation
(Fig.2)

Investigations in pinch experiments (till 1979)

1964
Temperature measurement by laser light scattering developed
(in the ISAR 1 theta pinch )

1969
Good confinement behaviour in the
Wendelstein 2a stellarator (1968-1974)

1971
Incorporation of IPP in the Max Planck Society

1973
IPP's first tokamak device: Pulsator (till 1979)
(Fig.3)

1973
Participation in the planning of the joint European
experiment, JET (Joint European Torus)
(Fig.4)

1980
WENDELSTEIN 7-A (1976-1985), world's first genuine
stellarator operation
(Fig.5)

1982
State of good thermal insulation, the H-regime,
discovered in the ASDEX tokamak (1980-1990)
(Fig. 6)

1983
Commissioning of JET, the Joint European Torus,
at Culham/UK
(Fig. 7)

1985
Gorbatschov and Mitterand propose the ITER
international test reactor

1988
First plasma in the WENDELSTEIN 7-AS modular stellarator
(1988-2002)
(Fig. 8)

1988
The international ITER Group commence planning at IPP
(Fig. 9)

1990
The ASDEX Upgrade tokamak goes into operation
(Fig. 10)

1991
Fusion research's first deuterium-tritium-discharge:
JET produces 2 megawatts of fusion power for 2 seconds

1992
WENDELSTEIN 7-AS, the first stellarator to achieve the
H-regime
(Fig. 11)

1997
Laying the foundation stone at the Greifswald Branch of IPP
as site of the WENDELSTEIN 7-X fusion device

1997
JET achieves record results: 16 megawatts of fusion power;
65 per cent of the heating power recovered as fusion power
(Fig. 12)

1998
Mode of operation with improved thermal insulation discovered
in ASDEX Upgrade
(Fig. 13)

2000
Opening of the new buildings of the Greifswald Branch of IPP
(Fig. 14)

2005
Construction of the WENDELSTEIN 7-X stellarator starts in Greifswald
(Fig. 15)

2007
The ITER Organization formally enters into force

2007
ASDEX Upgrade becomes the world's first and only device allowing
experiments with a wall completely clad with metal, viz. tungsten