Developed and licensed by Université Côte d’Azur (UniCA), the NICE code addresses the problem of plasma equilibrium in tokamaks. Initially supported by the Euratom research programme since 2014, the tool unifies and modernises three former codes (VacTH, EQUINOX, and CEDRES++) into a single finite-element framework. It employs the Newton method and Sequential Quadratic Programming to resolve non-linear free-boundary problems with a high level of precision.

NICE has been validated in fusion environments and is currently deployed for WEST tokamak operations. In 2023, the STEP team at UKAEA secured a licence, and in 2024 NICE was selected for the design of a plasma discharge simulator under contract with ITER.

While originally conceived for fusion plasma analysis, the architecture of NICE provides capabilities of interest to other domains. The software enables both direct and inverse free-boundary reconstructions, supporting static and quasi-static computations, and is modular enough to incorporate diverse experimental and simulation datasets.

Non-fusion domains of interest

• Space science and astrophysics: modelling magnetic equilibria in solar or planetary plasmas.
• Industrial magnetohydrodynamics: optimisation of liquid metal flows, crystal growth processes, or electromagnetic control of molten materials.
• Medical imaging: enhancement of MRI or MEG signal interpretation through advanced field reconstruction.
• Geophysics: reconstruction of subsurface or structural fields from distributed surface data.
• Aerospace engineering: optimisation of non-pyrotechnic hold-on and release mechanisms for satellites and payloads