Nuclear fusion - energy for future

This invited paper has been written on the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Nuclear Research (IBJ). The introduction describes basic nuclear fusion reactions and the appearance of high-temperature plasma, as well as different methods of the plasma generation and containment. The first part of the paper contains a concise description of the present status of research on controlled fusion and the construction of a thermonuclear reactor. The most important results of experiments oriented on magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) or inertial confinement fusion (ICF) are characterized. The second part of the paper presents a story of high-temperature plasma research carried out at IBJ (and now continued at IPJ) at Swierk. The main experimental facilities and scientific results, as obtained with those, are described. The most important achievements of IBJ (IPJ) researchers in the field of plasma physics and technology are indicated, and in particular: invention and development of the so-called RPI facilities producing intense plasma-ion streams, discovery and experimental study of a new configuration of a magnetic trap called the spherical multipole (SM) configuration, development of various plasma diagnostic techniques, and the optimization of different plasma-focus (PF) facilities.