Page 57 - Fundamentals of Magnetic Thermonuclear Reactor Design

40 Fundamentals of Magnetic Thermonuclear Reactor Design

project called INTOR was conceptually designed in 1988. ITER was the next
practical step in the international tokamak experiment [2].
The ITER project aims to do the following:
l Achieve a quasi-stationary plasma discharge burning in inductive discharge
conditions.
l Prove experimentally that a stationary operation can be achieved with a non-
inductive discharge current drive.
l Show that the project is technically feasible and do training exercises with
fusion key technologies and equipment, including superconducting magnetic
coils, divertor receiving targets, plasma additional heating and tritium breed-
ing technologies and control/diagnostics/remote maintenance equipment.
l Test prototype key functional components for future reactors.
l Test materials and equipment in a fusion neutron-irradiation environment.
l Verify the blanket concepts and test different tritium breeding modules.
The ITER Agreement was signed in Paris on 21 November 2006 by repre-
sentatives of China, the EU, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and the
United States. Canada and Kazakhstan also made their contributions to the proj-
ect. The ITER project is open to other countries subject to certain organisational
and financial conditions.
The ITER Agreement was a significant world event. In his speech at the
signing ceremony for the Agreement, the French president said, ‘…A great
progress has been made since the first Russian Tokamak. Yet ITER marks a
milestone, and three decades of research lay ahead for our nations with the hope
of a real solution of energy problems to all mankind…’
According to E.P. Velikhov, this project ‘is an important milestone for man-
kind, as it opens up new possibilities for energy generation and hence economic
growth… It is our hope that other international projects will follow suit in solv-
ing large-scale socio-economic problems’ [3].
ITER’s neighbour is the CEA Cadarache research centre in Southern France.
The construction site covers a total area of about 40 ha (Figs 3.1 and 3.2). The
construction is scheduled to be completed in the mid-2020s, and the experimen-
tal reactor is expected to run for ∼20 years.
The estimated total cost of the project is €15 billion (2010), of which the EU
should pay €5.4 billion in the form of equipment, construction and assembly
work. Russia’s contribution will be slightly more than 9% on total costs.
The ITER Council supervises ITER scientific work. The ITER Organiza-
tion (IO) has the task to implement the ITER project at the construction site in
Cadarache.
A comprehensive R&D programme preceded the ITER project technologi-
cal preparation and construction phase. National ITER agencies were set up in
the member countries to coordinate and control these efforts.
The national teams were encouraged to compete and submit creative ideas
for the unique project. While having the same technical specifications, they