International Tokamak Collaboration (ITC)

This project organises the collaborations of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics with some other international tokamak facilities.

The International Tokamak Cooperation (ITC) project includes IPP's participation

in the European experiments carried out at the joint fusion facility JET in the UK (until the end of 2023),
in the technology development for the soon-to-be-launched Japanese-European Tokamak JT-60SA in Japan,
in technology development for the international fusion facility ITER, currently under construction in southern France,
on other tokamaks under construction, including the Italian DTT facility.

The aim of the project is to help shape the scientific programme at these machines and to play a leading role in their scientific and technical operation. In doing so, IPP wants to verify findings and methods of plasma control developed at ASDEX Upgrade on larger tokamaks in order to make these concepts fit for use in future fusion reactors. IPP specialists are developing new technologies (heating method, plasma diagnostics, control system) for the operation of JT-60SA and ITER. For the analysis and interpretation of later results, IPP staff are preparing scientific software packages that will be used primarily at ITER.

IPP representatives participate in committees and networks that are to determine the details of future international cooperation on JT-60SA and ITER, in order to represent IPP's interests there.
The ITC project also serves to prepare and organise scientific collaborations with commercial start-ups in the fusion energy scene.

IPP's European collaboration with other European tokamak facilities in the size class of ASDEX Upgrade and below is not part of ITC. This cooperation is organised in a work package of EUROfusion (WPTE).
External partners in the ITC project are:

EUROfusion consortium, mainly with the WPSA, WPPrIO, WPTE and WPDIV work packages.
Fusion for Energy (F4E, the European Union body responsible for the EU contribution to ITER)
ITER Organization (ITER IO)