International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

The ambitious International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), being built in Provence in southern France, is set to become the largest fusion experiment in the world. Under the project, the tokamak, a magnetic fusion device performing the experiment, is built to study and prove the feasibility of atomic fusion as a large-scale clean energy source free of carbon. It aims to function similar to a star, performing the same kind of fusion that occurs in these stars. The larger the volume of the vessel, the larger the volume of plasma — superheated gas — offering scope for increased probability of fusion energy.

The reactor has been designed to produce a power output of 500 MW with an input of 50 MW resulting in a tenfold gain. An average household in the US consumes around 2,000 KW a year. The project is funded and run by seven member countries: European Union, India, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea, and US. India contributes 9 per cent of the $14-billion construction cost. The goal of ITER is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use. The construction is expected to be completed by 2025.

“This experiment deals with energy for the future. It will try to replicate how our suns and stars produce energy. We are trying to conduct nuclear fusion on Earth by using isotopes of hydrogen — Deuterium and Tritium,” said Ravi A.V. Kumar, scientific officer at Ahmedabad-based Institute of Plasma Research. “This will be a stepping stone to harness power from a fusion machine. This machine will produce 10 times more power than what you put in,” said Kumar, who is involved in the ITER project. Currently the nuclear power plants harness energy from fission reactions.

“Once this initial machine is successful, the next step will be a demo reactor that will actually produce electricity.” India’s biggest contribution to this project will be the cryostat, a device used to maintain low temperatures which encloses the entire machine. “It will be about 30 m wide and 30 m tall and will require 500 tonnes of steel. This is being built entirely in India by Larsen and Toubro in Gujarat and will be shipped to France,” Kumar said.

At the end of the project, India will also have access to the intellectual property rights to build its own fusion reactor.