-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	Follow-up on TSVV A Selection and Request for Revised Budget/proposal by 04 Nov
Date:	Mon, 27 Oct 2025 06:48:17 +0000
From:	LITAUDON Xavier <xavier.litaudon@cea.fr>
To:	tobias.goerler@ipp.mpg.de <tobias.goerler@ipp.mpg.de>

Dear Principal Investigator of TSVV A, Dear Tobias,

During a meeting on 23–24 October 2025, the E-TASC Scientific Board (SB) thoroughly reviewed all proposals submitted in response to the EUROfusion Call for Project Proposals for Theory, Simulation, Verification and Validation (TSVV) Activities (Ref.: GF/DK-25-62, dated 24 June 2025). We are pleased to inform you that your project TSVV A has been recommended for funding for the period 2026–2027.

As indicated in the call, the expected team size was approximately 5–6 full-time equivalents (FTEs) per year, corresponding to 120–144 person-months (PM) over two years (excluding UKAEA resources). This estimate was based on average consortium salary levels as of June 2025. Considering the actual salary rates of participating beneficiaries as of October 2025 and the overall budget limits, the target level of human resources per proposal for 2026–2027 is set at 120 PM. Your current proposal (146 PM/789k€ Consortium Cost) exceeds this target by 26 PM. We therefore kindly ask you to revise your proposal to align with the target level.

To facilitate these adjustments, your proposal will be re-opened in IMS. Please update the resources accordingly and resubmit the revised version by Tuesday, 4 November 2025, 12:00 CET.

The SB will reconvene on 5 November 2025 to review the revised proposals and prepare the consolidated budget to be submitted to the EUROfusion Programme Manager for final approval by the EUROfusion General Assembly in December 2025. This will allow the activity to start as planned in early January 2026.

Below this email, you will find the SB’s suggestions for prioritisation of activities, as jointly agreed by its members. Please note that these are recommendations only — you are, of course, the expert best positioned to determine the final prioritisation within your team.

As a general guideline, please keep in mind the two key grant deliverables for the WP Theory & Modelling:

Report on code dissemination, model validation, and comparison with experimental data (for both tokamaks and stellarators).
Report on TSVV research software compliance with EUROfusion standards.

Accordingly, beyond advancing code and physics objectives, your project should maintain a strong focus on validation of tools on existing EU facilities, rather than extrapolation to EU-DEMO, VNS, or privately funded projects (e.g., SPARC/ARC).

Finally, please note the following points:

If your proposal includes funding for PhD students, such positions may alternatively be supported under WP Training & Education through a dedicated lump sum provided by the EUROfusion Consortium.
TSVV projects funded during 2021–2025 will be presented in two EUROfusion seminars (via Zoom) on 14 and 28 January 2026.
A kick-off meeting for all new E-TASC-related activities in 2026/27 — including the TSVV and DTE projects as well as the ACHs and ENR projects in Theory & Modelling — is planned in Garching during the week of 9-13 February 2026 (date to be confirmed).

We appreciate your understanding regarding the short deadline for revising your proposal in light of the budget constraints, and thank you again for your valuable contribution to the TSVV programme.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Kind regards, Xavier Litaudon & Frank Jenko as E-TASC co-chairs

(on behalf of the E-TASC Scientific Board)

Suggestions for setting priorities:

1. Towards self-consistent, robust and validated gyrokinetic simulations of L-H transitions, enabling accurate H-mode pedestal profile predictions

· Flux-driven semi-Lagrangian GYSELA simulations – high priority

· Flux-driven PIC simulations with JOREK-GK – medium priority

· Input power scans with the Eulerian code GENE-X – high priority

GK analyses of natural or controlled small/no-ELM regimes and their transferability to future fusion devices, including ITER

· Multiple-scale small/no-ELM pedestal characterisation with GENE – high priority

· Full-f, ion-scale, cross-separatrix simulations – medium priority

First-principles-based and fast reduced model development of turbulent transport in the pedestal region of future fusion devices

· Assess QL nature of edge turbulence, spectral comparisons with TGLF – high priority

· Assessing and extending reduced models for the L-H transition – high priority

· Reduced models for electromagnetic modes – medium priority

· Assess reduced ETG models and implementations into GENE-X – high priority

· L-H/H-L regimes transition scaling laws based on large GBS based parameter scans – medium priority