Keynote 4: ITER: Fusion challenge and technologies

The world is facing the global challenge of developing energy “sources” which are both sustainable and environmentally friendly, while keeping the same “energy services”. Fusion of light nuclei (such as the hydrogen isotopes Deuterium and Tritium) is such an option. The talk will outline first the physics background for the realisation of a fusion reactor. A detailed description of the international experimental reactor ITER (in Latin: the way), under construction in Cadarache (F), and its role on the roadmap towards a reactor producing electricity, DEMO, will be presented. While ITER will integrate many components of various technologies (such as superconductivity, material capable of sustaining steady state heat fluxes), it also encompasses a few large projects of interest for the power electronics community.