Brussels, 06/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - Ministers from the seven economic powers involved in the ITER nuclear research project have re-asserted their commitment to cooperate to make ITER a success.
On 6 September, the second ministerial meeting since the launch of construction of the project in 2010 was hosted at the headquarters of the ITER international thermonuclear experimental reactor on the Saint Paul-lès-Durance site in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France.
After visiting the vast worksite, where the future Tokamak reactor is being built - a cylinder of 28 metres in diameter, 29 metres high and weighing 23,000 tonnes, which is integrated in a building 80 metres high - the ministerial delegations of the seven ITER member countries (China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA) and the stakeholders in this international nuclear fusion project met at the ITER headquarters along with France's Minister for Higher Education and Research Geneviève Fioraso.
One of the objectives of the ministerial meeting was to review progress made since 2010, said the ITER director general, Osamu Motojima from Japan. The ministers also discussed the project's future challenges. ITER will provide its first results in 2021, with the first plasma (the mix of particles where the nuclear reaction is due to occur) being planned for the end of 2020.
Accomplishing the project within the deadlines and managing the costs for this mammoth project, which are estimated at €15 billion, are the two main challenges that have been identified. The EU, which is providing €6 billion for the construction of the site, decided in June - after bitter discussions with the member states - to maintain the financing allocated to the project. As the ITER host country, France is assuming 20% of the EU's contribution - in addition to a little over €400 million in infrastructure costs.
“The ITER project is a historical undertaking. Intensive effort and innovative methods will be required to meet all the challenges that still lie ahead, especially the challenge of staying within a tight but realistic schedule while containing costs”, said European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger.
As work progresses on the ITER site, the high-tech components of the Tokamak fusion reactor are being manufactured by industries in the ITER member countries. Most of the contracts have now been signed with leading industrial players, and the components have already begun to arrive at the ITER site. The first large components are expected on site in June 2014 in time for assembly operations to begin, the European Commission states in a press release. (EH/transl.fl)