ITER Press release - international fusion experiment reports progress at Tokyo meeting 11/12 July
ITER Interim Council Tokyo 11/12 July 2007
Joint Communique
The second meeting of the Interim ITER Council (IIC) took place on 11 and 12 July in Tokyo, under the Chairmanship of Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith, CCE-EU Chairman (EU). The meeting came about half a year after its first meeting held immediately after the signature in Paris, 21 November 2006, of the Agreement on the Joint Implementation of ITER, the world's largest fusion energy experiment that is aimed at establishing the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as an energy source for peaceful purposes.
At the outset of the meeting, the IIC noted the progress made by the signatories in ratifying the ITER Agreement. The process is almost complete and the Agreement is now expected to enter into force within the next months.
Mr Kaname Ikeda, Nominee Director-General, of the ITER Organization and his principal deputy, Mr Norbert Holtkamp, reported on the ramp up of project activities under the provisional application of the ITER Agreement, including the assembly of the project team at the Cadarache site, the design review of the ITER facilities, the development and deployment of management tools to match ITER's unique project structure, the preparation of detailed specifications for procuring ITER components and the start of engineering work at the site.
The IIC recognized the progress being made and gave direction on a number of specific points, including the plans and detailed staffing and cost estimates for the construction phase, specific aspects of the management system and proposed agreements on relations with French authorities and with other international organizations, the IAEA, and CERN. The IIC also endorsed a proposed partnership arrangement with the Principality of Monaco.
The Chairman, Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith summed up: "The progress reported and the constructive discussions that took place during the meeting bode well for the future. The important and unprecedented international ITER collaboration is now taking the first steps to fruition."
BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS RELEASE
ITER will be the world's largest experimental facility to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power, sited at Cadarache in the South of France. 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 is contributing 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), are contributing equally to the rest.
Each Party is setting up a Domestic Agency to organise and carry out procurement of their in-kind contributions to ITER. The Domestic Agencies will employ their own staff and have their own budget and will place contracts with suppliers.
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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Notes for editors:
More information on the ITER project and fusion energy can be found on http://www.iter.org/
For further information, please contact:
Mrs Jennifer Hay
Public Relations ITER Cadarache JWS
Bat 519 CEA Cadarache
13108 Saint Paul-lez-Durance
France
T: 00 33 (0)4 42 25 46 57
E: jennifer.hay@iter.org
12th July, 2007 |
