UN atomic agency signs agreement to enhance fusion research
13 October 2008 – The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today joined forces with a global
research consortium to enhance studies into fusion, a type of nuclear energy generated by merging light atoms.
The IAEA signed an agreement in Geneva with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization to
bolster ties between the two bodies.
When two light atoms collide at high speed, they fuse into a heavier nucleus and release energy. Such reactions generate
create the massive amounts of energy produced by the sun and other stars.
Research on fusion – ultimately aimed at creating electric power plants – is still in a preliminary stage.
The United States, the European Union (EU), Japan, Russia, India, and the Republic of Korea partnered to create the
ITER, which aims to demonstrate how fusion could be used to generate electrical power. A research facility – or a
tokamak, where strong magnetic fields confine a doughnut-shaped fusion plasma – is set to be constructed in southern
France.
“ITER is a clear example of how a large international project can be successfully organized,” said Yury Sokolov, Deputy
Director General of the IAEA.
Under the new arrangement, the two agencies will exchange information on the potential application of fusion energy and
will collaborate on training programmes and conferences regarding fusion safety and security.
Today’s agreement was signed on the opening day of the IAEA’s 22nd Fusion Energy Conference.
“Efforts must be pursued to associate developing countries to scientific cooperative arrangements and to facilitate
technology transfers,” said Jan Beagle, Deputy Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, said at the start of the
six-day event.
“Most importantly, we must strive to stimulate research and scientific knowledge, to build capacity, in the least
developed countries so that developing-country experience can become a greater part of global scientific collaboration.”
ENDS