The Institute takes part in international fusion research with the long-term aim of imitating on earth the sun's method of producing energy and thus harnessing a practically inexhaustible energy source with favourable safety and environmental features for mankind. The progress achieved in recent years at fusion devices provides a solid data base today for extrapolation to a fusion machine with tenfold power gain. This decisive step is to be made by implementing the ITER experiment planned in international cooperation, which will furnish a fusion power of 500 MW for a burning time of approx. 8 minutes per plasma pulse and will be the last intermediate stage prior to the construction of a continuously operating demonstration power plant (DEMO).

The Institute's research programme is oriented to the strategy of the European research programme (EURATOM), which pursues four parallel lines: a) the implementation of ITER in global cooperation, b) an ITER-accompanying research programme at smaller devices, c) the development of the necessary fusion technologies for DEMO and d) further research into alternative confinement concepts.

For the research programme accompanying ITER the TEXTOR tokamak is available in Jülich. In 1996, the EURATOM-associated fusion laboratories in the three-frontier region, Institute of Plasma Physics of Research Centre Jülich, Instituut voor Plasmafysika Rijnhuizen of FOM and Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas of ERM/KMS Brussels have joined forces forming the Trilateral Euregio Cluster (TEC) with the aim of carrying out a joint research programme at the large central TEXTOR device. TEC allows resources to be combined (e.g. the radiofrequency heating schemes are provided and operated by the TEC partners), favourably combines different expertises complementing each other and provides a centre of attraction for the universities in the region. The Institute additionally cooperates in the use of TEXTOR with Japan, the USA and Canada under an IEA Implementing Agreement.

Apart from TEXTOR, experimental facilities outside Jülich are also used to an increasing extent. This includes above all the JET tokamak used under the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA). At the national level, the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics, Garching, Research Centre Karlsruhe and Research Centre Jülich have joined as Helmholtz centres in the Nuclear Fusion Development Association to coordinate their work. Within Research Centre Jülich all fusion-relevant activities at the institutes are coordinated by the Nuclear Fusion Project.

In order to proceed from ITER to DEMO, the continuous operation of a fusion reactor must be implemented. To this end, it is above all necessary to achieve a sufficient lifetime of the wall components under strong load. The TEXTOR tokamak experiment will contribute in the years to come with the Dynamic Ergodic Divertor (DED) pioneering experiment towards exploring the fundamental possibilities of reducing wall exposure with the aid of external perturbation fields. Moreover, the basic concept of TEXTOR with in part unique provisions for experiments allows detailed research into fundamental processes, so that more reliable models for predicting the lifetime of wall components can be made e.g. by a better understanding of the plasma-wall interaction. In this field, close cooperation also takes place with the material-oriented investigations performed at IWV-2.

For the planning and construction of ITER, the European associations will have to furnish their contributions in accordance with existing expertise. The Institute of Plasma Physics aims at tackling problems from the fields of plasma diagnostics and plasma heating.

Due to its inherently steady-state plasma operation, the stellarator is considered to be the most promising alternative to the tokamak. With the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Greifswald to become operational in about 2010 Germany will have a worldwide leading experiment in this field. The Institute of Plasma Physics will contribute to the construction and scientific use of the new stellarator by solving electrotechnical problems and developing and providing diagnostics.