World's first joint project on "artificial sun" to be launched next month

Seven parties will sign an agreement on the joint implementation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project next month, said a senior official with the ITER International Fusion Energy Research Project on Tuesday.

Kaname Ikeda, Director General Nominee with the ITER International Fusion Energy Research Project, told Xinhua at the ongoing 21st Fusion Energy Conference in Chengdu, that the agreement between the United States, the European Union, China, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Japan and India marked the formal launch of the project.

The project aims to recreate the conditions of the sun under which a nuclear fusion reaction can take place. The process has been given the nickname of "artificial sun" by scientists.

As a member of the joint partnership, China will promote its development, said Xu Guanhua, Minister of Science and Technology.

The formal implementation of the project offers people an opportunity to realize their dream of bringing nuclear fusion energy under control, said Werner Burkart, Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

According to Kaname Ikeda, the construction of the reactor will take nearly 10 years and cost 10 billion euros. It will be located in France.

Controlled nuclear fusion is seen as an efficient way for people to generate infinite, clean energy to offset the dearth of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.

Scientists believe the fuel, deuterium, can be extracted from the sea and an enormous amount of energy can be obtained from a deuterium-tritium fusion reaction under a huge temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. After nuclear fusion, the deuterium extracted from one liter of sea water will produce energy equivalent to 300 liters of gasoline.

Different from nuclear fission which has brought as many problems as benefits, nuclear fusion is a more viable solution for the world's energy supply, said Burkart.

China has seen its self-designed full superconducting experimental Tokamak fusion device, dubbed EAST (experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak), completed and enter the trial phase. It is the first one of its kind in the world.

Similar to the operation mode of the devices of ITER, EAST could offer research and experimental expertise for ITER, said Xu Guanhua.

According to Zhou Caipin, deputy director of the Center for Fusion Science of Southwestern Institute of Physics, China will send about 30 scientists to France to participate in the ITER research.

As the first international joint project concerning a nuclear fusion reactor, ITER is a good example of how the world can cooperate in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, said Burkart.

Source: Xinhua