Observatorio de I+D+i UPM

HiPER is a multi-national laser facility designed to allow Europe to take a leading position in the pursuit of Inertial Fusion Energy, whilst offering an internationally unique capability for science in extreme conditions. It will open up entirely new areas of research, providing access to physics regimes which cannot be explored on any other science facility. It has been formally endorsed by 7 European nations at the governmental or national funding agency level, 2 regional governments, over 20 scientific institutions and has direct involvement from industry. Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) lies at the heart of the design of HiPER. Fusion is the holy grail of energy sources combining abundant fuel with no greenhouse gas emissions, minimal waste products, and a scale that can meet mankind s long-term energy demands. Fusion combines hydrogen isotopes to create helium gas and a neutron which is captured to provide heat for a steam turbine. The IFE solution for fusion is a proven scientific concept. A laboratory demonstration of net energy production using lasers for IFE is now only 3 years away, marking the culmination of 40 years research.