115: Plasma confinement & the future of fusion ft. Katarina Bendtz, Novatron Fusion

Nuclear fusion is often described as the holy grail of clean energy — but why has it remained so elusive, and what makes plasma confinement such a critical challenge?

In this episode of the Mission Shunya podcast, we speak with Dr. Katarina Bendtz, a computational physicist at Novatron Fusion Group, a Swedish startup developing a radically different approach to magnetic confinement.

We dive into:
 ⚛️ The technical challenges of fusion and why plasma confinement is key
 🧲 How Novatron’s magnetic field design sets it apart from tokamaks and stellarators
 💻 The role of computational physics in accelerating fusion innovation
 🌍 Europe’s growing fusion ecosystem and Sweden’s role in the race
 👩‍🔬 Katarina’s personal journey into fusion and what it takes to build a career in this cutting-edge field

This conversation highlights not only the science, but also the persistence and people behind the effort to bring fusion from theory to reality.

As we near the close of the nuclear series, this episode adds yet another dimension — showing how startups in Europe are reshaping what the future of fusion could look like.

🎙 Hosted by Girish Shivakumar
 📍 Mission Shunya — conversations towards the global zero carbon transition