Inside the structure of the ITER reactor
The UK government has refused an invitation to become a full member of the ITER fusion experiment, having lost access to the project after leaving the EU. Instead, it will focus on UK-based public and private sector fusion initiatives.
ITER, the world’s largest nuclear fusion experiment, is under construction in France and is scheduled to be completed in 2025 after numerous delays. The project is funded by a large international collaboration including China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United States and the European Union.
The UK had access to ITER through the EU, but after Brexit it is no longer part of the EU. Negotiations with the EU have since announced that the UK will rejoin Horizon Europe, a joint scientific research effort, but not Euratom, which focuses on nuclear energy.
Head of Euratom Research, Elena Righiappears to be calling for the UK to formally rejoin the ITER experiment this week, but the UK government supports the decision to withdraw and believes private investment in fusion research is more efficient and cost-effective than commercial reactors. He said he believed it would be the way to go. .
Rigi was speaking at an event in Oxfordshire, England, to celebrate the achievements of the JET fusion reactor, which was permanently shut down late last year and is now scheduled for decommissioning.
“The European Commission and the Council of the EU regret to note in their joint statement that the UK has decided not to participate in the Euratom project and the Fusion for Energy joint venture,” Rigi said. “The EU institutions have made a strong call for the next period starting in 2028. [for] UK will participate in all four programs [ITER plus the European Commission’s three other large-scale fusion research projects]”
“This will enable a truly European fusion community to continue its integrated efforts and resolve the current ambiguous UKAEA participation.” [UK Atomic Energy Authority] to eurofusion [the European fusion research group] and ultimately enable fuller UK integration in the construction and operation of ITER. ”
new scientist We asked the European Commission to clarify Rigi’s statement, but it did not respond.
At the same event, andrew bowiesaid the British Atomic Energy Minister. new scientist The UK supports the decision not to rejoin this effort and commits to doing so. Freed up £650m, Instead, it can be used to fund a mix of private and public research.
“The ultimate goal of all the experimentation, all the research, all the great work here at JET is to integrate into the power grid and power homes and businesses,” Bowie says. “To make this a commercial reality and bring solar power into people’s homes will also require significant buy-in from the private sector.”
“We made the right decision not to regroup. We believe that here in the UK we have moved to a place where recombining would divert time, resources and money away from where we want to take the fusion project forward. “There wasn’t an ideological decision not to reunite, it was a pragmatic decision,” he says.
Mr Bowie said the UK could benefit more from private sector investment but was “very open” to finding new ways to work with ITER, including personnel exchanges. “We’re not saying no to working with ITER,” he says. Bowie also explicitly ruled out officially re-entering the ITER project, saying, “We support that decision.”
The UK is also developing plans for a fusion power plant, the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), which will produce plasma by 2035 and generate a net energy gain (more electricity than input) in five years. is expected to be reached (generated).
Juan Matthews Researchers at Britain’s Dalton Institute for Nuclear Research at the University of Manchester say that if successful, spherical reactors like STEP could produce fusion power that is smaller and cheaper than larger designs like ITER, which have their own problems. It has said.
“We keep getting delayed,” Matthews said. “We are stuck in a big project syndrome where things don’t go as planned and costs go up. The loss of communication between the STEP initiative and his ITER is the driving force that will result in: There is a possibility. [the UK] We demonstrated power generation earlier than Europe. I am very optimistic about the use of spherical tokamaks. ”
topic:
- nuclear fusion technology