ITER Council Assesses Progress on Nuclear Fusion Project
November 24, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
Representatives from the European Union (EU) and six other ITER members attended the meeting: China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States.
The EU noted that progress towards developing a realistic scenario for construction of ITER has been achieved; however, discussions are still needed on the construction schedule, and in particular on the terms of risk mitigation.
The ITER Council agreed on the primary importance of achieving deuterium/tritium operation, which represents one of the key milestones for ITER, as early as realistically possible. An updated schedule is expected by the end of February 2010.
Such a schedule will determine an "early date" for first plasma by incorporating risk-mitigation approaches and realistic planning of activities for all domestic agencies. It will also identify a late-finish date that considers all risks for each component by consultation with domestic agencies and industries.
The objective guiding EU actions is to ensure the sustainable success of ITER project with acceptable risks and at reasonable costs. For this to happen, a number of boundary conditions need to be met: credible cost assessments, acceptable costs and cost-containment measures, a realistic time table and sound management of the project at both the international and national levels.
For the EU, the project will benefit from the identification of additional meaningful milestones, such as the completion of major elements of the buildings or technical items for which the construction is shared among several members. This will help to measure the progress of the work. ITER indeed does not only represent the construction of a complex machine but also an unprecedented international scientific and industrial venture.
The ITER Council also considered the recommendations of the management assessment team and set up a working group with the view of taking decisions on how to respond as quickly as possible. The EU said it looks forward to quick results so that the necessary decisions can be taken as soon as possible.
"The EU joins its international partners in acknowledging the progress done so far, in particular as regards the manufacturing of ITER components which has begun in all ITER parties," said Janez Potočnik, EU science and research commissioner.
"On 16 November, the EU Council confirmed its unanimous support to ITER and set out a clear view on the boundary conditions needed to ensure its success. The EU is committed to the success of ITER, which has to be based on a realistic planning, acceptable to all parties, that mitigates the risks and associated costs at each step and is executed through sound management at all levels."
Background
ITER is an international project of scientific collaboration designed to build an experimental reactor that will reproduce the physical reaction - nuclear fusion - that occurs in the sun and stars. ITER aims to do this at a scale and in conditions that will demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as an energy source for the future.
The formative agreement between the seven parties - Europe (Euratom), China, U.S., Japan, Korea, India and Russia - was signed on Nov. 26, 2006 and came into force on Oct. 24, 2007. Euratom's contribution is managed by the European domestic agency called Fusion for Energy, established in March 2007.
ITER is part of the EU strategy to address security of energy supply and climate change. It has been identified in the Strategic Energy Technology Plan as one of the long-term key technology milestones to meet the EU's 2050 objectives of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy dependency.
For more information, see the ITER web site and the Fusion for Energy web site.
Source: European Commission (EC).