FPN01-53

IAEA Marks Completion of ITER EDA

July 12, 2001

The Internaional Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) will mark the official "completion of the Engineering Design Activity (EDA)" of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in a ceremony July 17 in Vienna, Austria. The EDA began in 1992 as a four party (Europe, Japan, Russia, United States) collaboration to design the world's first net power-producing fusion energy test facility. The United States withdrew from the collaboration in 1998. The IAEA noted, in a July 10 press release, that the current ITER design "will be capable of generating 500 MW of fusion power for hundreds of seconds," and "could lead to the construction of a demonstration fusion power plant that generates large amounts of electricity." The remaining parties plan to make site and construction decisions during the coming year and have expressed hope that the U. S. would rejoin the project.

At the ceremony, Dr. M. Yoshikawa, Chairman of the ITER Management Advisory Committee, will speak on the role of fusion energy in the future; Academician E. P. Velikhov, Chairman of the ITER Council, will speak on the history of the ITER project, and ITER Director Dr. R. Aymar will speak about ITER objectives and parameters.

Persons wishing to attend should contact Ms Catina Negrete (c.negrete@iaea.org) no later than July 16.