It is with much regret that we report the passing of Professor Francesco Romanelli on 20 March 2026, the former head of EUROfusion and its predecessor EFDA (European Fusion Development Agreement).
Francesco’s drive and strong leadership shaped the European fusion programme, notably via his leading of the 2012 EFDA Roadmap which was the basis of EUROfusion. He successfully oversaw the transition from EFDA to the new EUROfusion organisation in 2014 before becoming interim EUROfusion Programme Manager.
As Associate Leader for JET, and then EFDA Associate Leader between 2009 and 2014, Francesco worked closely with UKAEA to keep JET at the cutting edge of international fusion, co-ordinating the research programme with scientists from 25 countries. During his time leading EFDA, the major ITER-Like Wall upgrade to JET was completed and the foundations for the record-breaking Deuterium-Tritium campaigns of 2021 and 2023 were laid.
As well as being a major figure in the leadership and management of international fusion research, Francesco was a respected fusion theoretician in his own right, who produced many notable research papers on plasma transport and stability. He continued his scientific and teaching career in his native Italy after his time leading EUROfusion. Most recently he was President of the Divertor Tokamak Test facility consortium at Frascati.
Many UKAEA staff based at Culham will have known Francesco, who was based on site for almost a decade. He will be remembered for the impact he made on fusion and for his thoughtful, committed leadership.