THE ITER FUSION EXPERIMENT

The Engineering Design Activities (EDA) for an international Thermonuc lear Experimental Reactor (ITER) were established on 21 July 1992 by a n agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community the Governmen t of Japan, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Governmen t of the USA. The overall programmatic objective is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peacefu l purposes. The engineering objectives are to establish the design of ITER in such a way that controlled ignition and extended burn of a fus ion plasma can be demonstrated, essential reactor technologies can be demonstrated in an integrated system, and integrated tests of high hea t flux and nuclear components can be performed. This article outlines the fusion process and the tokamak concept used for ITER and summarise s the potential advantages of fusion energy. The objectives of the EDA are presented together with the organisational structure to translate them into a design. Finally the ITER parameters and design status are reported; and a brief overview of time planning and cost is given. Co pyright (C) 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.