Ministers establish EU's ITER agency
The European agency which will be responsible for managing the EU's contribution to the international fusion project ITER has been officially established by the EU's Finance Ministers at their meeting in Brussels on 27 March. The European Domestic Agency will be based in Barcelona, Spain and has a budget of €9.6 billion. During its 35 year lifetime, it will provide the contribution of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) to the ITER organisation, as well as Euratom's contribution to the 'broader approach' activities with Japan for the rapid realisation of fusion energy. The agency will also be responsible for preparing and coordinating a programme of activities in preparation for the construction of a demonstration fusion reactor and related facilities. 'The EU Domestic Agency has a very large role to play in the ITER project, and I congratulate the EU on this important progress,' said ITER Nominee Director General Kaname Ikeda. 'We hope that this organisation will become operational as soon as possible, and we look forward to working with this new counterpart.' ITER, which will be the largest experimental nuclear fusion facility, will be situated in Cadarache, southern France. Europe is due to contribute half the costs of construction, with the rest coming from the other countries involved in the project, namely Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Russia, India and the US.
Countries
China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, United States