The importance of fusion development towards a future energy source

In the light of major uncertainties in the long-term energy provision, the sensible approach with regard to energy-conversion technologies is not an ‘either–or’, but an ‘and–and’ philosophy. All three long-term carbon-free options, renewables, fission and fusion, should be further explored and developed so that future generations can choose the composition of an appropriate energy source basket. It would be irresponsible towards future generations not to pursue a potentially successful energy source such as nuclear fusion. Indeed, future fusion power plants have good prospects to qualify as economic and environmentally benign base-load electricity generation plants. The progress of fusion development has been remarkable; all available techno-scientific information shows that steady and significant progress is being made towards a successful reactor. The slow (but steady) pace of progress, however, is linked with the need for large and expensive experimental devices. In the present context of liberalizing energy markets, whereby most actors focus on short time survival and profit making, and the indifference by the public at large towards science and technology development, it is not obvious to convince the decision makers to invest in a long-term energy research strategy. Nevertheless, political decisiveness is required to keep the time schedule to establish commercial fusion by the middle of the century.