Fusion down under
The present Australian research and development activities in fusion are currently concentrated on plasma theory and modelling. Experimental plasma physics research is conducted on H-1 at the Australian National University in Canberra, and inertial electrostatic confinement and dust in fusion plasmas at the University of Sydney. There are also active collaborations with a significant number of international laboratories.
While there has also been recent growth in international program participation, Australia is not yet formally part of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Project. In 2004, a group of Australian fusion scientists and engineers in various organizations and universities formed the , with the goal of achieving Australian participation in the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ program.
Subsequently, the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Forum, with Government support, met with representatives of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Members at a workshop called "Towards an Australian involvement in °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ" in Sydney, in October 2006. Post-workshop, the Forum conducted a strategic planning exercise to outline a participation route to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ and develop a sustainable domestic capability for fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO) timescales. The strategic plan, which was released in August 2007 and now has widespread institutional support, proposed an Australian contribution of an °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ subsystem, strategic fellowships, and enabling research infrastructure upgrades. Australia has not only scientific and technological expertise to offer the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Project, with the ability to train more, but also the backing of specialist industrial firms, and raw materials of fusion relevance, namely for lithium, vanadium and for niobium superconductors.
Most recently (February 2009), two representatives of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization visited Canberra for discussions concerning some plasma diagnostics for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ which have been identified as necessary, but are, as yet, uncredited.