Scientists keep up quest for secrets of nuclear Holy Grail

Date: 14/01/1999

By Peter Chapman

THE EU committed itself to four more years in search of the energy equivalent of the Holy Grail when it agreed an €788- million budget for research on nuclear fusion last month.

This is the latest chapter in Union research and development efforts in the field dating back to the early days of the European Community in the 1950s.

Fusion, which mimics the way stars such as the sun naturally produce energy, involves the joining together of atoms in order to create massive amounts of power. It is seen as an environmentally friendlier and more powerful alternative to nuclear fission.

Unlike nuclear fission, fusion would only produce small amounts of radioactive waste with a 'half life' of a ten rather than thousands of years. But experts say it is much more difficult and therefore costlier to achieve than fission, because of the massive temperatures of up to 150 million degrees centigrade required at the core of the reactors.

The EU's faith in fusion means it takes the lion's share of an overall €1.26-billion nuclear research budget in the latest stage of the Euratom programme, set to run from this year until 2002.

The future of Euratom was agreed at the same time as EU research ministers and MEPs finalised details of the accompanying €13.7-billion Fifth Framework R&D Programme, which covers research ranging from the 'user-friendly information society' to the environment and sustainable development.

The EU-level fusion strategy appeared to be in doubt after the US announced plans to pull out of a key collaborative project aimed at building a test bed for a working reactor, in the summer, on the grounds that the research was too costly.

But officials say the EU, Russia and Japan will carry on with a scaled-back International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project.

“The other three intend to go on. The US pulling out does not imply an increased burden on the rest. The joint work will be aimed at designing a smaller, reduced mission device,” said one.

However, he admitted that the timetable for fusion R&D meant its benefits were likely to be reaped by the children and grandchildren of the researchers.

The ITER project will only yield a reactor capable of demonstrating the principles of fusion, producing thermal energy but not electricity. “It would take ten years to build, and a further ten years of experiments, before researchers would be ready to build a separate full demonstration reactor capable of producing electricity,” he said.

Other targets for the atomic research booster include plans to launch calls for tender worth €142 million in the fission sector.

Fission R&D will focus on the safety of Europe's nuclear installations, “to help solve waste management problems and to improve the competitiveness of Europe's nuclear industry”.

A Commission fission expert said ways must be found to cut the costs of existing nuclear power stations to enable them to compete safely with gas-powered stations. New designs for smaller scale, but more cost-effective nuclear plants will also be a research priority.

Meanwhile, experts at the EU's own Joint Research Centre technology laboratories in several member states are set to enjoy a €291-million boost to research into other key nuclear technology areas.

EU's nuclear sector budget (Projects in millions of euro)

'Indirect actions' (subject to calls for tender)

Controlled nuclear fusion 788

Nuclear fission 142

Research and technological development activities of a generic nature 39

Support for research infrastructures 10

Total 979

'Direct actions' (carried out by Joint Research Centre)

Nuclear fission safety 122

Nuclear safeguards 138

Decommissioning and waste management 21

Total 281

Grand total 1,260

Source: European Commission