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Source: Joint Press Release Japanese Government and EURATOM
On Monday 5 February in Tokyo, the EU and the Japanese government signed the "Broader Approach" agreement that was initialled on 22 November 2006, the day after the signing of the ITER agreement in Paris. This agreement is part of the deal hammered out during the site decision process, defining a "previlidged partnership" for Japan and setting out the work to be carried out jointly by the EU and Japan in support of ITER. The EU/Japan agreement lasts 10 years and represents some 340 million Euro of European investment. The cooperation aims to complement the ITER Project and to accelarate the realisation of fusion energy as a clean and sustainable energy source, by carrying out R&D and developing some advanced technologies for a future demonstration fusion power reactor (DEMO).
The Agreement between the Government of Japan and EURATOM was signed by Mr. Taro Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Mr. Hugh Richardson, the Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan. The full name is the Agreement for the Joint Implementation of the Broader Approach Activities in the Field of Fusion Energy Research.
Three large projects will be carried out in Japan under this Agreement, on a timescale compatible with the ITER construction phase. The first two projects will be carried out at Rokkasho, Aomori prefecture, and the third project will be carried out at Naka, Ibaraki prefecture. Participation in each research project will be open to the other ITER Parties. The three projects are:
1. Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities for the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF/EVEDA).
The future realisation of fusion energy will require materials which have endurance and show low radioactivity against the exposure to the harsh thermal and irradiation conditions inside a fusion reactor. IFMIF will allow testing and qualification of advanced materials in the same environment conditions as those in a future fusion power reactor. The Engineering Validation and Design Activities aim at producing a detailed, complete and fully integrated engineering design of IFMIF.
2. International Fusion Energy Research Centre (IFERC).
IFERC consists of activities on DEMO (the fusion device foreseen after ITER) design R&D, Computational Simulation and ITER Remote Experimentation towards the realisation of DEMO.
3. Satellite Tokamak Programme
The Japanese JT-60 tokamak will be upgraded to an advanced superconducting tokamak JT-60 SA, and be exploited under the framework of this Agreement as a "satellite" facility to ITER. The Satellite Tokamak Programme is expected to develop operating scenarios and address key physics issues for an efficient start up of ITER experimentation and for research towards DEMO.
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