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ITER Organization gets the go-ahead
Paris, France, November 21: Today, Ministers from
the seven Parties of the international nuclear fusion project
ITER (China,
European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and
the United States of America) came together to sign the agreement to establish
the international Organization that will implement the ITER fusion energy
project.
The signature took place at a ceremony at the
Elysée Palace in Paris and was hosted by the President of the French Republic M.
Jacques Chirac and by the President of the European Commission, M. José Manuel
Durão Barroso. The signed documents were formally handed over to Dr. Werner
Burkart, Deputy Director General, Nuclear Sciences and Applications, of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, to be deposited with the Director General of
the IAEA.
The first meeting of the Interim ITER Council
took place at Ministerial level after the signing ceremony, under the
chairmanship of Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research.
This constituted the first act of the newly established ITER Organization. With
the signature of the ITER Agreement and the first Council meeting, the ITER
Organization can start its operation on a provisional basis pending the entry
into force of the agreement which is expected in the course of 2007.
ITER Director General Nominee Kaname Ikeda said
"With the accomplishment of today's meeting, the ITER Organization is able to
embark on its mission, as a worldwide international cooperation, to help create
a new source of energy for humankind".
BACKGROUND
ITER will be the world's largest experimental facility to demonstrate the
scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. The construction costs of
ITER are estimated at 5 billion Euros over ten years, most of which will be
awarded in the form of contracts to industrial companies and fusion research
institutions. Europe will contribute roughly half of the costs of construction,
while the other six parties to this joint international venture (Japan, China,
the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, India, and the USA), will
contribute equally to the rest.
In June 2005, the ITER partners decided
unanimously to choose the European site at Cadarache, in the South of France, as
the location for the construction of ITER.
The ITER Organisation will be established as an
international organisation by the ITER Agreement. The ITER Agreement sets out
all the necessary provisions for the ITER Organization to become operational,
such as its purpose and functions, its members, its legal personality, its
Council, Director-General and staff, its resources, etc.
Upon its entering into force, the ITER Agreement
will have a duration initially of 35 years with the possibility of extension for
up to 10 years.
Fusion is the process which powers the sun and
the stars. When light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large
amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a prototype
fusion power plant that is safe and reliable, environmentally responsible and
economically viable, with abundant and widespread fuel resources.
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