According to the will of the FDP, Germany should become a pioneer in the use of nuclear fusion. "It would be great if the first nuclear fusion reactor, which produces electricity for companies and households, was built in Germany. That must be our goal," said Christian Dürr, leader of the FDP parliamentary group, in the "Augsburger Allgemeine". That's why he proposes to the traffic light coalition to legislate the possibilities for the development of nuclear fusion.

Dürr complained that energy policy had been characterized too much by bans and restrictions in recent years. "But when it comes to the question of how we will shape our energy supply in the future, we have to be open to technology. And I hope that the Greens will not only look back, but also look ahead," said the FDP parliamentary group leader. Over the Christmas holidays, the CDU politician Jens Spahn appealed to the federal government to promote research into nuclear fusion as an energy source in Germany.

Time frame currently unclear

In nuclear fusion, unlike in reactors in nuclear power plants, atomic nuclei are fused instead of split. Theoretically, very large amounts of energy could be generated in this way - and in a climate-neutral manner. In practice, however, this has so far been difficult. The US government had declared a few weeks ago that it had succeeded for the first time in fusing atomic nuclei to generate more energy than was consumed.

However, it is questionable whether and when the technology can be used to generate energy on a large scale. As early as the 1980s, scientists announced "breakthroughs" that ultimately did not turn out to be such. What is undisputed, however, is that progress has been made in recent years.