I am leader of the materials and components development activities at the plasma physics part of the Institute for Energy and Climate Research (IEK-4). Here, I coordinate and actively participate in the new development of advanced materials for extreme environments including fusion, with a focus on new solutions based on, e.g., high-z metal composite materials. On a European level, I am coordinating the efforts related to Plasma Wall Interaction and the Qualification of High-Z Materials , namely tungsten, for the use in future fusion devices. (www.iter.org www.euro-fusion.org). As part of my european involvement, I also participate in activities related to large-scale fusion devices such as ITER, JET, AUG, and W7-X. On an international level, I am part of a group of experts and member of the International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA-Div/Sol) to move forward the required knowledge base to operate ITER.