The University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) held a technical meeting on 23 and 24 November at the Toledo Campus within the framework of the European programme for the development of nuclear fusion atomic energy, Eurofusion (Early Neutron Source work package). The regional university is part of this European programme as an affiliated entity of the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), the coordinating body of the Spanish contribution to the project.

The meeting, which the Vice-Rector opened for Internationalisation, Raúl Martín, was attended by several members of the IFMIF-DONES team, including Wojciech Krolas and Frederik Arbeiter, Project Manager and Technical Advisor of the Project Leader of WPENS, respectively. WPENS is one of the projects developed by IFMIF-DONES.

The Toledo meeting also brought together researchers from Spanish and European institutions, including the UCLM, to review the design’s state and discuss the main technical issues affecting the IFMIF-DONES installation.

The construction, commissioning and operation of this unique scientific and technical facility will be carried out in an international framework. It will be dedicated to nuclear fusion research, among other complementary uses. IFMIF-DONES will be a neutron source based on a particle accelerator and a circulating liquid metal (lithium) stream. Construction of the facility has started in Spain, specifically in Escuzar (Granada).

IFMIF-DONES contributes to developing a new nuclear fusion technology to expand scientific and technological knowledge and improve specific technical capabilities currently under development.