What is ITER Project?
The ITER Project is historically the largest fusion project in scale, in which seven nations paricipate in attempt to develop the fusion energy - the renewable and unlimited energy source - and also to stop the global warming. The goal of the ITER joint development project is to construct such experimental reactor that can reach the self-igniting condition only by the plasma heating caused by the high energy alpha article (He) produced in the plasma as a result of the fusion reaction.
The Project Outline
| Title | ITER joint Implementation project |
|---|---|
| Duration | 2007 ~ 2042년 (Construction, Operation, Deactivation and Decommissioning) |
| The Objective of The ITER Project | In cooperation with the six other leading nations (EU, JP , US , RF, CN , IN ), Korea will participate in the ITER development and the experimental reactor construction in order to demonstrate its technical feasibility. Through this experience, Korea may obtain the necessary technology for the fusion power plant construction. |
| Main Contents | Developing and constructing an experimental fusion reactor producing 500 MW of fusion power - The fusion reactor itself has been designed to produce a plasma with 500 MW of thermal output power from 50 MW of net injected thermal power, a plasma power amplification factor of ten (Q=10) |
| Promotion Process | EU and the other 6 nations will together share the ITER device manufacturing cost, international organization operating cost, and the other cost burden for R&D |
| Total Cost | 4,584.7kIUA (about 7.1 Billion Euro) |
| Construction Procedure | Components of the machine delivered by the ITER parties (In kind contribution) and their assembly on the ITER site |
History
| 1988. 04 | Launch of the ITER Project (Creating the ITER Council under IAEA) |
|---|---|
| 2001. 07 | Completion of the final ITER engineering design (FDR published) |
| 2003. 06 | Join the ITER Project |
| 2005. 06 | Conclusion of the ITER site: Cadarache, France |
| 2005. 12 | Completion of the ITER Joint Implementation Agreement (Jeju Island, Korea - Cost sharing, Procurement items, India’s entry |
| 2006. 11 | Signing of the ITER Joint Implementation Agreement (21 Nov, Paris) |
| 2007. 10 | Effectuation of the ITER Joint Implementation Agreement and Establishment of the ITER organization |
| 2010. 07 | ITER Project Baseline Approved (28 July, 2010. Cadarache, France) |
- The beginning of the fusion research
In 1950s, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. secretly launched the fusion research for the purpose of developing the H-bomb, however in 1958, following the international agreement to the peaceful usage of the nuclear energy, significant progress has been made with large fusion experiments.
- Fusion research in the early stage
Fusion research requires high technology as well as an immense financial support. Therefore, in the early stage, the research was conducted by the U.S., E.U., Japan, Soviet Union and such developed nations with leading technology and economic power. Particularly, in the early 1980s, three large tokamaks, JET(EU), JT-60(JP), TFTR(US), were built and operated to prove the technological and scientific validity of the fusion research
- Starting ITER
Later in 1988, the conceptual design work was started as a part of the ITER project led by the U.S., E.U., Japan and Russia, and now the engineering design activity is completed
- Korea’s participation
After completion of Engineering Design Activity in 2001, the participating nations began the negotiation for the ITER site selection and to conclude the joint implementation agreement. In May 2003, Korean government decided to join in this project and notified the already-participating nations. Under the unanimous decision by the participants after reviewing the KSTAR construction status and very capable domestic institutions, Korea officially joined the ITER project in June 2003.
- Terms of Participation
For participating in the project, Korea is obligated to share 9.09% of the total ITER construction cost (3577.7kIUA, kIUA: kilo ITER Unit of Accounts), endorse the ITER joint implementation agreement and ITER design results, as well as to share the operation cost. For the in kind procurement as a part of Korea’s share, Korea plans to manufacture and supply the ITER main component.
- Selecting the ITER site
French site Cadarache was chosen to be the ITER site and with additional participation by China and India, the total of seven countries became the final ITER project participants.
- ITER Joint Implementation Agreements
The final negotiation meeting for the ITER JIA and its Annex was held in December 2005, in Jeju, Korea. Following the final draft revision in April 2006, on May 24th a tentative signing among the seven participating nations was held in Brussels, Belgium. The official signing in November 2006 made this Agreement official and once each participant and its national parliament ratifies it, ITER International Organization will be established.
- The beginning of the fusion research
In 1950s, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. secretly launched the fusion research for the purpose of developing the H-bomb, however in 1958, following the international agreement to the peaceful usage of the nuclear energy, significant progress has been made with large fusion experiments.
