Fusion for Energy (F4E) is the European Union organisation established to enhance Europe’s global role in the development of fusion energy. The organisation – formally known as the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy – primarily manages the EU’s contribution to ITER, the international fusion energy project.
F4E was established in April 2007 for a period of 35 years. It has more than 250 members of staff and its offices are located in Barcelona, Spain.
One of its main tasks is to work together with European industry and research organisations to develop and provide a wide range of high technology components for the ITER project. F4E was created by a decision of the Council of the European Union as an independent legal entity: it is a joint venture that brings together Euratom (the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community), the EU Member States and other European countries that have cooperation agreements with Euratom.
Fusion is the process which powers the sun and the stars. When light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. This is a very difficult process to recreate on earth – gases need to be heated to extremely high temperatures (about 150 million degrees C) to produce a plasma which then needs to be contained for a sufficiently long period for fusion to occur. Harnessing fusion would provide an environmentally sustainable and almost limitless source of energy.
ITER is a major international experiment with the aim of demonstrating the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power and capable of generating some 500 million watts (MW) of fusion power continuously for up to 10 minutes.
It will be 30 times more powerful than the Joint European Torus (JET), which is currently the largest comparable experiment operating in the world. ITER will allow scientists and engineers to develop the knowledge and technologies needed for the future demonstration electricity producing fusion power stations.
With Europe, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States all participating in the project as parties, ITER, is one of the largest international scientific projects ever conceived: it brings together countries representing over half of the world’s population! ITER is being constructed in Cadarache, in the South of France.
Cycle: Challenges of The 21st Century. The Voice of Science
Organized by: Residence for Researchers
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