In a response to recent German, European and international funding initiatives related to Fusion Energy Research, the European XFEL was identified as a research laboratory in Europe well-prepared to tackle open scientific questions on the path to clean energy production.
In a workshop in June 2024 it was established that European XFEL offers the possibility to image - in a time- and space-resolved fashion - the dynamics of sub-micrometer structures and to monitor ionization states when fusion-relevant matter is compressed and heated by state-of-the-art high energy/power lasers.
Based on the workshop’s outcome, the European XFEL came up with a concept for a three-phase scientific program which we would like to present to the international community at this half-day virtual workshop. In particular, we will present the initial thoughts for a new, dedicated research instrument for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) research and seek the ideas of the community for specific [types of] experiments to be performed. This information will guide the technical planning for this instrument.
