All World

Nuclear: Iter deadlocked

Iter barely get under way. The international program which provides for the construction of a thermonuclear fusion reactor could be delayed again. The European Commission should in fact announce Wednesday that it does not sign the document which puts the project on track, says Les Echos published Wednesday.

The European Union has failed to obtain the financial commitment of the twenty-seven member states until 2040 to ensure the viability of the project. The European contribution for 2007-2020 has almost tripled from 2.7 billion euros expected in 2001 to 7.2 billion euros this year. For 2012-2013, a European envelope further 1.4 billion euros is needed.

Diplomatic issues

However, this explosion of the budget falls very ill, while the finances of European countries are seriously affected by the economic crisis and the recent austerity plans.One familiar with the matter told the Echo that the project has become important diplomatic: "Because of security issues in terms of global energy supply, the fight against climate change and investment, its status is more only scientifically. It is now a political project where the game of diplomacy is as important as the result of research equations.

The ITER project aims to provide a solution to the global energy crisis by reproducing the energy production inside the sun. The fusion of hydrogen nuclei would provide an inexhaustible energy, cheap and clean (it produces little radioactive waste, unlike the mechanism of nuclear fission).The reactor built on the site of Cadarache Provencal begin operation in 2018 but will be fully operational in 2026.

Seven partners (the European Union, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States), representing over half the world population, are involved in the project that meets the opposition Greens. Time is running out for Brussels. Tired of difficulties, the United States plans to reduce 40% of their financial contribution to the project and other countries could follow suit. The Commission hopes to resolve the problems of the project's contribution today and in the other two European meetings on 21 and set June 25