China seeks fusion power as shortcut to solve energy crisis

China is all set to push forward for the development of fusion power with a project called ITER, that will see it collaborating with countries like India, to seek a shortcut to solve the energy crisis.

Beijing, Jan 7 : China is all set to push forward for the development of fusion power with a project called ITER, that will see it collaborating with countries like India, to seek a shortcut to solve the energy crisis.

"The project aims to find a shortcut to solve our energy shortage," said Luo Delong, deputy director of the ITER China Office.

Local experts have said that fusion may produce dozens of times more energy than fission, which now directs most of the world's nuclear-power plants.

According to a report in Shanghai Daily, officials have said that China will inject about one billion yuan (US$137.5 million) into this project, which will also help to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power for peaceful use.

The key equipment for the project will be constructed in Cadarache in the south of France, where Chinese researchers will be in charge of producing various components.

The partners in the project include the European Union, the United States, Japan, India and Russia.

According to project officials, the long-term objective of the research is to harness fusion nuclear energy to help meet the future energy needs of mankind.

But first, the aim of ITER is to show fusion can be used to generate electrical power and do the preparation work to build and operate an electricity-producing plant, a key part of the project being the development of a viable fusion-power reactor.

As part of the project, scientists of ITER will test a number of key technologies, including the heating, control, diagnostic and remote maintenance that will be needed for a real fusion-power station.

According to the website of ITER, the overall construction cost of the project is estimated at five billion euros (US$7.37 billion) over 10 years and another five billion euros are earmarked for the 20-year operation period.

ANI