# Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (Greifswald)

> plasma physics research facility in Greifswald, Germany

**Wikidata**: [Q33526667](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33526667)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/max-planck-institute-of-plasma-physics-greifswald

## Summary
The Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (Greifswald) is a branch of Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, founded in 1994 to investigate the physics of hot plasmas for fusion energy. Based in Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, it operates one of the world’s most advanced stellarator fusion experiments, the Wendelstein 7-X.

## Key Facts
- Founded in 1994 as the Greifswald branch of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics.
- Located at Wendelsteinstraße 1, 17491 Greifswald, Germany (54.0733° N, 13.4239° E).
- Part of the Max Planck Society, Germany’s premier basic-research organization.
- Official aliases: IPP Greifswald, MPI für Plasmaphysik, Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics Greifswald Branch.
- ROR ID 029rhq550; GRID ID grid.475228.e; ISNI 0000 0004 0648 0340; Ringgold ID 97035.
- Primary website: https://www.ipp.mpg.de/17313/greifswald.
- Classified as both a research institute and a research center.

## FAQs
### Q: What is the main experiment run in Greifswald?
A: The institute hosts Wendelstein 7-X, a superconducting stellarator designed to demonstrate steady-state fusion plasma confinement without the need for a plasma current.

### Q: Is the Greifswald site independent?
A: No. It is a branch of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, headquartered in Garching near Munich, and both are part of the Max Planck Society.

### Q: When did the Greifswald branch open?
A: The facility was established in 1994 specifically to build and operate large-scale stellarator experiments in northern Germany.

## Why It Matters
Fusion could provide abundant, carbon-free baseload power without long-lived radioactive waste. The Greifswald institute tackles one of the biggest hurdles—how to hold 100-million-degree plasma steady long enough for fusion reactions to occur. Its Wendelstein 7-X device is the world’s largest and most powerful stellarator, a design inherently suited to continuous operation rather than the pulsed mode of tokamaks. By demonstrating that a stellarator can achieve high plasma density and temperature for 30 minutes or more, the institute is laying the scientific groundwork for commercial fusion reactors that would run around the clock, complementing intermittent renewables and helping to decarbonize the global energy supply. The project also drives innovation in superconducting magnets, cryogenics, and plasma control systems that spill over into medical imaging, semiconductor processing, and space propulsion.

## Notable For
- Home to Wendelstein 7-X, the world’s largest superconducting stellarator (in operation since 2015).
- First stellarator to produce hydrogen plasmas lasting up to 100 seconds at reactor-relevant temperatures.
- One of only two Max Planck institutes devoted exclusively to plasma physics and fusion energy.
- Largest research facility in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, anchoring a regional high-tech cluster.

## Body
### Mission and Role
The Greifswald branch exists to advance the physics and technology of magnetically confined fusion plasmas, with emphasis on the stellarator concept. Its overarching goal is to show that a stellarator can reach the triple product of density, temperature, and confinement time required for net fusion power.

### Organization
The site is one of two administrative sections of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics; the other is in Garching. Both sections share a single directorate and budget under the Max Planck Society.

### Infrastructure
- Wendelstein 7-X: 16 m diameter, 2.5 m plasma radius, 3 T superconducting magnets, cryogenic pellet injector, 10 MW ECRH heating system.
- 1200 m² cryogenic plant supplying 3.5 K helium to 70 superconducting coils.
- In-house workshops for superconductor winding, vacuum vessel fabrication, and plasma-facing component testing.

### Timeline
- 1994 – Greifswald branch founded.
- 2005 – Assembly of Wendelstein 7-X begins.
- 2015 – First helium plasma produced (10 ms).
- 2018 – Hydrogen plasmas sustained for 26 s at 60 million °C.
- 2022 – Record pulse length of 100 s achieved.

## References

1. GRID Release 2017-07-12
2. International Standard Name Identifier