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Scientists & Pioneers

Tony Donné

Dutch plasma physicist who served as Programme Manager of EUROfusion — leading Europe’s coordinated fusion research programme through the JET final campaign and the road to DEMO.

Reviewed Last reviewed: 9 Aug 2026 · Category: Scientists & Pioneers

Career

Tony Donné is a Dutch fusion scientist who served as Programme Manager of EUROfusion (the European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy) from 2014 to 2024. In this role, he coordinated the fusion research activities of 30 European research organisations, managed the operation of JET, and oversaw the European DEMO design programme.[1]

JET stewardship: Under Donné’s leadership, EUROfusion conducted the final deuterium-tritium campaign at JET in 2023, achieving the world record of 69.26 MJ of fusion energy — a fitting capstone to JET’s 40-year career and essential preparation for ITER.

Contributions

Before EUROfusion, Donné was head of the Fusion Physics Division at the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER). His research focused on plasma diagnostics, particularly electron cyclotron emission (ECE) and Thomson scattering. He developed advanced imaging diagnostics that provided unprecedented views of plasma turbulence and instabilities.[2]

European Roadmap

Donné played a central role in developing the European Research Roadmap to the Realisation of Fusion Energy, which outlines the path from ITER through DEMO to commercial fusion power. He championed increased collaboration between public and private fusion programmes.[3]

Sources

  1. EUROfusion. "About EUROfusion." euro-fusion.org.
  2. Donné, T. et al. "European Research Roadmap to the Realisation of Fusion Energy." EUROfusion, 2018.
  3. Maslov, M. et al. "JET DTE3: record energy and scientific advances." EUROfusion press release, February 2024.

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