FPN04-24

EU Commissioner Touts Fusion, Praises JET

March 9, 2005

Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research, in a March 3 speech at the JET fusion facility in the UK, said, "The case for pursuing fusion energy is, in my mind, clear and compelling. Global economic development and the climatic and geopolitical risks associated with continued dependence on fossil sources have led to a rapid growth in energy needs. This requires us to take a look at how we intend to address our energy needs in the future. I do not believe that there is one single solution to which we should pin all our hopes. It is our responsibility to keep options open, for ourselves and for our children and for our grandchildren. Therefore we should strive to have a sustainable energy mix. Fusion energy is certainly one of the major elements of this mix that we should be working to place at the disposal of future generations."

Potocnik praised the EU fusion effort in general and the JET program in particular, saying, "Even now, almost thirty years after its construction started, JET remains the world's leading device for magnetic fusion research and the flagship of European fusion research. JET's is a testimony to the talents of its designers and builders who came from all over Europe to work under Paul-Henri Rebut and Hans Otto Wuster. JET gives us a striking demonstration of what happens when the scientists and engineers of Europe act together with a common goal."

Potacnik said, "As I understand, the efforts of the last decades have yielded abundant results. And JET has been at the forefront of the advances achieved in key fusion parameters towards the conditions for energy production." He also noted, "In parallel the long-term technology programme has been generating the technological knowledge base that should allow Europe to design and operate fusion power plants. Without this accompanying work, JET would probably have not achieved its remarkable success. It is this coordinated effort and integration of the overall Fusion Community which has allowed Europe to lead the world in this field of research."

The complete text of Potacnik's remarks are posted at http://fire.pppl.gov