Netherlands Eindhoven

DIFFER Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research

DIFFER, the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, is the national research institute for fundamental energy research in the Netherlands and one of the institutes of NWO-I, the institutes organisation of the Dutch Research Council. Its motto is "Science for future energy".… DIFFER, the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, is the national research institute for fundamental energy research in the Netherlands and one of the institutes of NWO-I, the institutes organisation of the Dutch Research Council. Its motto is "Science for future energy". The institute originated in 1959 as the FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen and moved in 2015 to a purpose-built laboratory on the campus of Eindhoven University of Technology, with which it works closely. DIFFER's research concentrates on two routes to a sustainable energy future: fusion energy and solar fuels. Its fusion research studies the interaction between hot plasma and the wall materials of future fusion reactors, in facilities such as the Magnum-PSI linear plasma generator, and it contributes to ITER and the European fusion programme. Its solar-fuels research explores how sunlight, electricity and plasmas can be used to make chemical fuels and materials, and both lines are supported by theory, computation and materials science. The institute places strong emphasis on safety and on a working culture that welcomes difference. DIFFER recruits PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, scientific staff and engineers, and offers internships and graduation projects to students. Vacancies are published on its own site in English.