Figure 1:Many components and
techniques that are needed for ITER
have already been tested by
industry,
such as this full-scale vacuum vessel
sector, produced in Japan
(courtesy JEARI).
Short History
While significant progress has been made with large fusion experiments around the world, most of which were constructed in the 80´s, it was clear from an early stage that a larger and more powerful device would be needed to create the conditions expected in a fusion reactor and to demonstrate its scientific and technical feasibility, and each of the fusion programmes around the world started to make their own design for it.
The idea for ITER originated from the Geneva superpower summit in November 1985 where Premier Gorbachov, following discussions with President Mitterand of France, proposed to President Reagan that an international project be set up to develop fusion energy for peaceful purposes. The ITER-project subsequently began as a collaboration between the former Soviet Union, the USA, the European Union (via Euratom) and Japan.
Figure 1:Many components and
techniques that are needed for ITER
have already been tested by
industry,
such as this full-scale vacuum vessel
sector, produced in Japan
(courtesy JEARI).
In 1988 the conceptual design work was started, followed in 1992 by engineering design. On July 21st, 2001, the ITER engineering design activities were successfully completed, and the final design report was made available to the ITER Parties. The design was underpinned by Research & Development work worth $650M, which was carried out by the ITER parties to establish the practical feasibility of the design.
The physics studies and technology developments on many fusion devices worldwide have provided a solid basis for predicting how an ITER scale plasma should behave. During the ITER engineering phase, key prototypical high-technology equipment, such as superconducting coils, remote handling systems, and high heat tolerant components, has been developed specifically and manufactured by industry and is now ready for production.
A number of changes have occurred in the Participants to the ITER project. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation took its place as ITER Party. The USA temporarily withdrew from the project in 1999, to return in 2003. Canada become a participant in negotiations in 2001 by proposing a site for ITER, but left the project at the end of 2003 when it was not selected. The People´s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea both joined the project in 2003, and finally India joined in December 2005.
Site selection
The process of selecting a location for ITER took a long time, and was finally successfully concluded in 2005. Canada was first to offer a site in Clarington, in May 2001. Soon after, Japan proposed the Rokkasho-Mura site, Spain offered a site at Vandellos near Barcelona, and France proposed the Cadarache site in the South of France.
Canada withdrew from the race in 2003, and the EU decided in November 2003 to concentrate its support on a single European site, for which the French site Cadarache was chosen. From that point onwards, the choice was between France and Japan. On June 28, 2005 it was officially announced that ITER will be built in the European Union, at the Cadarache site.
As part of the deal over the siting, it was agreed that Japan would provide 20% of the staff for the ITER project, and Europe would make a fifth of its procurements in Japan. In addition, the head of the project would be proposed by Japan, and Japan and Europe would work together on a "broader approach" including the other programmatic items which would be necessary to build a demonstration power plant in Japan after ITER, such as materials qualification, advanced plasma experimentation, plasma simulation, and the design team itself.
Current situation
The decision on where to site ITER allows the project to move towards its construction phase. Agreement has been reached on the sharing of the costs and the in-kind contributions to the project between the different Parties. The way is now open for the signing of a joint implementation agreement, which will allow the international ITER Organisation, based in Cadarache, to be established. This is expected to take place in late 2006, after initialling of the agreement in May 2006, which needs to be followed by ratification of the agreement by national parliaments for some governments.
The top management team of ITER has been named. The Director-General of the project will be Kaname Ikeda, formerly Ambassador for Japan in Croatia. The Project Construction Leader will be Dr. Norbert Holtkamp, a German, and former director of accelerator systems at the Spallation Neutron Source in Oak Ridge, USA. Current expectations are that the ITER Organisation should be established around the end of 2006, and following licensing, begin construction in 2008, with a view of obtaining the first plasma in 2016. This will be followed by an exploitation phase lasting about 20 years.