Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Designs Innovation Center

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory will break ground in summer of 2024 on a 68,000-sf research facility at the Forrestal campus in Plainsboro. Designed by SmithGroup, the Princeton Plasma Innovation Center will offer laboratories of various sizes where PPPL investigators will engage in shared discovery with academic and industry partners. Open meeting venues with whiteboards will encourage the spontaneous exchange of ideas, and collaboration spaces equipped with advanced technologies will support interaction with remote participants.

Acting as a new campus gateway, the project will replace part of the original building while enabling the expansion of innovative programs in fusion energy and plasma science. Upon completion in 2027, the complex will consist of two wings linked by a smaller lab building with a garden terrace. The ground floor of the three-story north wing will be devoted to research with offices located on the second and third levels. To the south, a single-story lab wing will integrate a sloped ceiling to address a range of height requirements.

INTECH Construction is the general contractor for the all-electric development, which will utilize numerous sustainable strategies including heat recovery, passive shading, and natural lighting and ventilation. A green roof will provide landscaped environments for socializing, gathering, and relaxing, while other areas will accommodate a future photovoltaic array. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy facility managed by Princeton University. The DOE’s Princeton Site Office will receive $2.3 million from the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) program to expand its existing geothermal system with wells installed 500 feet beneath the new facility.