Co-Financed International Projects
TASK TITLE: Participation of Nicolaus Copernicus University in the European Joint Programme of the EURATOM Community established by Council Regulation (EU) No 2021/765 of 10 May 2021, complementing the Horizon Europe programme
TASK LEADER:
Piotr Stankiewicz, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University
FUNDING:
PLN 29,888.00
TOTAL VALUE:
PLN 66,418.00
Description of the activity:
The activities carried out in 2025 constitute the culmination of a five-year research programme aimed at identifying the social and economic conditions that may effectively support the widespread deployment of nuclear fusion on the energy market of the future.
In accordance with the consortium’s work plan for 2025, the SES component implemented by Nicolaus Copernicus University comprises two research tasks: “Survey Research” (coordinator: CIEMAT) and “Engaging Experts in Fusion and Energy” (coordinator: SCK CEN). Both tasks constitute a continuation of research conducted in previous years. The activities planned for this year focus on disseminating and promoting the research findings through scientific publications and conference presentations.
Task: “Survey Research”:
Completion of the qualitative and statistical analysis of data from the European EUROfusion survey conducted in November 2023. The activities focus on publishing scientific articles and presenting the findings at the mid-term conference “Environment and Society”, organized in September 2025 by the Energy and Society Network. The presentation will examine the survey findings in relation to the results of social research conducted under the Ninth Framework Programme (FP9).
Task: “Engaging Experts in Fusion and Energy”:
A scientific article will be prepared for publication, compiling and discussing the views and attitudes of energy experts towards nuclear fusion technology. The data were collected during satellite events accompanying scientific conferences held in 2023 and 2024 as part of stakeholder engagement activities. The research findings are intended to provide the SES and WPCOM teams with new perspectives on potential areas for further scientific research and to support the achievement of relevant communication objectives.
TASK TITLE: Participation of Nicolaus Copernicus University in the European Joint Programme of the EURATOM Community established by Council Regulation (EU) No 2021/765 of 10 May 2021, complementing the Horizon Europe programme
TASK LEADER:
Piotr Stankiewicz, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University
FUNDING:
PLN 27,901.00
TOTAL VALUE:
PLN 62,004.00
Description of the activity:
The tasks undertaken by Nicolaus Copernicus University contribute to the aforementioned research areas coordinated by the respective consortium members. In accordance with the Task Specification 2024 document approved by the consortium, the activities carried out by Nicolaus Copernicus University involve participation in SOCS.02.02.-T004 “Stakeholders Engagement – 2024”, coordinated by SCK CEN, Belgium.
The role of Nicolaus Copernicus University in implementing this task will consist of preparing and co-organizing stakeholder workshops during conferences devoted to nuclear fusion, as well as coordinating work on a joint scientific article presenting the results of participatory research. In accordance with the consortium’s approved work plan, the activities under this task will constitute a continuation of two workshops entitled “Nuclear Fusion: Talking about What’s Beyond the Science”, held on 12 July 2023 during the 30th Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE) in Oxford and on 18 October 2023 during the 29th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference (FEC) in London.
The specific tasks to be carried out by Nicolaus Copernicus University will include:
- analysis of the results and proceedings of the workshops conducted in 2023 with a view to organizing subsequent workshops;
- development of a methodological framework and research scenario for subsequent workshops;
- preparation and implementation of workshops as satellite events accompanying the 33rd Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT) in Dublin, Ireland, on 22–27 September 2024, or another conference of a similar nature;
- synthesis of the results of the workshops conducted in the previous and current years;
- conducting additional research activities necessary to obtain more comprehensive findings, such as in-depth interviews with selected workshop participants;
- presentation of the results at a project consortium meeting;
- preparation of a scientific article based on the results obtained from the workshops.
CO-FINANCED INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
TASK TITLE: Participation of Nicolaus Copernicus University in the European Joint Programme of the EURATOM Community established by Council Regulation (EU) No 2021/765 of 10 May 2021, complementing the Horizon Europe programme
TASK LEADER:
Piotr Stankiewicz, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University
FUNDING:
PLN 32,085.00
TOTAL VALUE:
PLN 71,301.00
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY:
Nicolaus Copernicus University has previously participated in research on the social aspects of nuclear fusion development through the Institute of Plasma and Laser Microfusion in 2010–2012. In 2019, Nicolaus Copernicus University once again joined the consortium’s activities as part of the SES research programme, implemented by a consortium comprising thirteen European research institutions.
The activities carried out in 2023 aim to identify the social and economic conditions that could effectively support the widespread deployment of nuclear fusion in the energy market of the future. They constitute a continuation of the research activities undertaken by the consortium in previous years. The social research conducted under WP SES 2023 analyses and assesses current public, stakeholder, and media attitudes towards this emerging technology.
This component of the SES programme comprises the following research tasks:
1. Public Opinion Survey (coordinator: CIEMAT) – the objective is to conduct a Europe-wide questionnaire survey covering at least 20 countries in order to assess public attitudes towards nuclear fusion. The task will include:
a. development of a questionnaire based on the hypotheses formulated, previous research findings obtained within the project, and other studies in the field of fusion research;
b. establishing cooperation with a selected market research company to conduct the survey among a sample of at least 800 respondents in each country;
c. preliminary analysis of the survey results.
2. Stakeholder Engagement (coordinator: SCK CEN) – the objective is to organize workshops as satellite events accompanying conferences devoted to nuclear fusion in order to collect the opinions and views of energy experts. The task will build on the results of stakeholder mapping conducted during the previous year of the project.