International fusion project moves ahead

The U.S. and six international partners announced last week an agreement to begin construction of the $12 billion International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in southern France. Construction of the fusion energy project is to begin late this year and will take eight years, said Raymond L. Orbach, head of the Energy Department's Office of Science, who represented the U.S. in international negotiations with the European Union, Russia, Japan, China, India, and South Korea. The EU will pay 45.4% of the construction costs, and the rest will be shared by the U.S. and the five other partners, each contributing 9.1% or $1.1 billion. Speaking from Brussels, Orbach laid out a long history of U.S. involvement in the fusion project, stretching back to the Reagan presidency. Although U.S. leaders have run hot and cold on this international collaboration, Orbach said it was a top science priority for the Bush Administration. The demonstration project will pave the way for development of fusion, he said, calling it a "transformational" energy technology of the future. To give the U.S. greater access to the reactor, the U.S. cost share will increase to 13% of operational expenses, Orbach said. He predicted a 20-year shakedown phase for the project's operation. The agreement must be approved by Congress, which has 120 days to review it under the terms of last year's Energy Policy Act.