Felix Smits
Researcher
- Name
- Dr.ir. F.M.A. Smits
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 5823
- smits@physics.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0001-8377-4690
Felix Smits is dedicated to energy research using plasma technology and radio waves. Since climate change cannot wait for nuclear fusion to become commercially viable, he combines his broad experience to develop the TECH microwave plasma reactor, which is the missing technology link in a circular power station. LION does this in collaboration with DIFFER, the Dutch Institute for Energy Research. The circular power station offers a solution to the intermittency of green electricity: The CO2 from the power plant is converted to gas by TECH using excess electricity. And during power dips, the gas is used by the power plant to generate electricity and store CO2. In this way, the circular power station serves as a chemical battery. This reactor combines many physics topics: plasma, flow, microwaves, chemical reactions, heat transport, to name a few. All of these must be mastered to prove the concept and make a competitive demonstrator.
Felix Smits contributed to nuclear fusion research (creating the sun on earth to generate energy) in experiments as Tore Supra and the world’s largest tokamak JET. These plasma machines have paved the way to the worldwide collaboration ITER. He led the first projects AAD and OSMA that developed the phased array technology used in the Square Kilometre Array Observatory. He explored this technology for new radars concepts at Thales and TNO leading to several patents, such as a through the wall radar. His combined experience is especially suited to the research and development of the TECH reacor with DIFFER.
Researcher
- Science
- Leiden Instituut Onderzoek Natuurkunde
- LION - Quantum Matter & Optics
- Smits F.M.A., Man L. de, Groen P.W.C., Disselhorst J.A.J.M., Visser E.J., Wiegers E.L., Deursen C.F.M.A. van, Bouwmeester D., Sanden M.C.M. van de & Bongers W.A. (2023), Flow and microwave design of the Topological Reactor, ICPIG XXXV Egmond aan zee 2023. International conference on phenomena in ionized gases (ICPIG XXXV) 9 July 2023 - 14 July 2023 P1-12.
- Deursen C. van, Poyer H. van, Bongers W.A., F.J.J., Smits F.M.A. & Sanden M.C.M. van de (2023), Effluent nozzles in Reverse-vortex-stabilized microwave plasmas for performance enhancement, ICPIG XXXV Egmond aan zee 2023. International conference on phenomena in ionized gases (ICPIG XXXV) 9 July 2023 - 14 July 2023 P2-42.
- Smits F.M.A., Bongers W.A., Peeters F.J.J., Deursen C.F.A.M. van & Sanden M.C.M. van de (2022), Efficiency and conversion optimisation of tubular vortex flow stabilised microwave plasma reactors. Klinger T. & et al. (Eds.), 48th EPS conference on plasma physics . 48th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics 27 June 2022 - 1 July 2022 no. 46A. Maastricht: European Physical Society (EPS). 560.