Nuclear fusion: "It is our duty to master this source of energy"

Around mid-June, EPFL celebrated in front of a large audience the return of the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) to the European ITER programme since the beginning of the year. As part of the agreement on the European Union's programmes signed at the end of 2025, Switzerland has thus officially regained its place in European research programmes on nuclear fusion.

This reintegration, described as a major step for the SPC, ends a transition period of nearly five years. What will it concretely change? And where does Switzerland stand today in terms of research on nuclear fusion? We discuss it with Yves Martin, deputy director of the Swiss Plasma Center. Interview.

What does this return of Switzerland and EPFL to the European ITER programme concretely mean?

It means the return of Switzerland as a full member in all activities related to fusion managed by Europe, both academically and industrially. More concretely, we officially regain our place among the main European laboratories and can once again fully participate in decisions. Swiss members of the various bodies have, for example, regained their right to vote.

With regard to ITER, we can also reintegrate international working groups and contribute to preparing its operation. For Swiss industry, this return is very important, since it once again allows companies based in Switzerland to respond to calls for tenders. As an ITER partner, we again have access to all information related to the project and can thus position ourselves in the fusion market, which is currently booming.

Even without an agreement, didn't Switzerland continue to invest and collaborate with the EU within the framework of its nuclear fusion research programme?

The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SEFRI) did indeed continue to support EPFL and the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC), so that we could maintain our participation in the projects of the EUROfusion consortium. We were also able to contribute to certain projects carried out for ITER and Fusion for Energy (F4E), thanks to the establishment of a specific temporary agreement.

How would you place our country in terms of research capacities on nuclear fusion?

EPFL with its Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) is among the five most important partners in European fusion research, both for the quality of work carried out on the TCV tokamak and in theoretical research, and for their technological developments in different areas, such as superconductivity, numerical simulation and microwave heating systems.

EPFL with its Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) is among the five most important partners in European fusion research.

So what is this tokamak that the Swiss Plasma Center and EPFL are particularly proud of?

Our Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV) is an extremely high-performance installation, both for its technical characteristics and its organization. It is thus a leading machine in the field of international fusion research. Its specificity lies in its ability to create plasmas of very varied shapes and configurations, like no other machine in the world. This allows us to optimize configurations by comparing the characteristics of different plasmas.

We are, for example, pioneers of "negative triangularity." Usually, in a tokamak, the plasma has a D-shaped form, as is the case in ITER. We have, however, discovered that a reversed D shape, with the vertical part on the right, offers performance similar to, or even better than, that obtained with the usual configurations, while avoiding some of their disadvantages.

Had this return of Switzerland to the European programmes become all the more necessary because we now operate in a context where competition has become highly internationalized, with the rise of new actors, notably American and Chinese?

Europe indeed perhaps relies more than other actors, notably the United States and China, on the exploitation of ITER to develop its own fusion programme. It should also be recalled that it finances nearly half of the project and assumes an equivalent share of its realization, notably because ITER is being built on its soil.

Europe must therefore give itself every means to make it a success. And since Switzerland's contribution to fusion research is significant, it is important that our country participate fully in the European effort and, consequently, in ITER.

We are also observing an acceleration in the development of fusion as an energy source, notably in China and the United States. This momentum is increasingly oriented towards commercialization. We are thus getting closer to the goal pursued by all the research we have carried out over the past decades, which is rather satisfying!

It would, however, be regrettable if Europe were left behind at this "final stage." That said, we continue to collaborate with the other ITER partners, whether with a view to its operation, of course, but also within the framework of reactor projects aiming to commercialize fusion.

We are thus getting closer to the goal pursued by all the research we have carried out over the past decades, which is rather satisfying!

What do you think of all these new start-ups, like Helion, supported by Sam Altman, which has just raised half a billion dollars and announces a power plant as early as 2028?

It is clear that a private company has the capacity to build a machine much more quickly than what we observe with ITER. However, if one considers that a fusion power plant must integrate all the elements necessary to be truly "sustainable," achieving such a result in less than ten years seems utopian to me.

To be sustainable, it is notably essential that it generate the tritium it needs itself, from lithium, in the first wall surrounding the plasma. However, this technology is still far from having reached the necessary degree of maturity.

In Helion's case, the tritium issue does not arise directly. Its technology is however overall less advanced than that of tokamaks and the fuel used requires reaching conditions even more demanding than those required for the deuterium-tritium reaction.

Could Europe's, and Switzerland's, energy sovereignty one day materialize thanks to nuclear fusion?

Yes, fusion can certainly contribute to the energy sovereignty of Europe and Switzerland. In my opinion, it is even our duty to master this energy source on our continent. I think it is time to stop dithering about whether or not we will develop fusion in Europe, because we will need it. Indeed, insofar as fusion offers an abundant, safe and environmentally friendly energy alternative, it should be part of the energy mix alongside renewable energies, notably because it does not depend on weather conditions.

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