FPN05-53

ITER and Fusion

July 8, 2005

Writing for MIT's Technology Review, Ian Hutchinson notes that the recent announcement that agreement has been reached to construct ITER in France "is a source of relief and anticipation to nuclear fusion researchers worldwide." He says, "It also removes perhaps the last major impediment to embarking on a project that has been under consideration for nearly 20 years." Hutchinson says, "Decades of fundamental scientific research and detailed engineering design have bolstered confidence that this project can succeed."

Hutchinson cautions, "It is also important for the United States to maintain fundamental research and innovative initiatives into the basic science of magnetically confined plasmas, which may lead to breakthroughs that eventually enable faster fusion development and more cost-effective fusion systems." He says, "If this (ITER construction) funding were drawn from the already overconstrained budget of $290 million, the drain would devastate fusion research. That is the reason the overwhelming consensus of the U.S. fusion community in favor of ITER is predicated on the maintenance of strong domestic fusion and plasma physics research, plus additional funds for ITER construction." He notes, "The United States spends close to $1 trillion per year on the energy it consumes. In the context of that economic reality, fusion research would be cheap at twice its (currently $290 million per year) price."

Hutchinson is chair of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Department at MIT and a member of Fusion Power Associates Board of Directors.

His complete Technology Review article is posted at http://fire.pppl.gov