ITER CTA NEWSLETTER
No. 16, JANUARY 2003

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, AUSTRIAISSN 1683–0555

TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR ITER STARTED
Negotiations by the ITER Parties on the Agreement on the Establishment of the International Fusion Energy
Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project (ITER Implementation Agreement, or simply“the Agreement”) and on the site selection for construction of the ITER machine are making good progress.
Therefore, the ITER Parties decided that subsequent to the ITER Co-ordinated Technical Activities (CTA), theTransitional Arrangements for ITER (ITA or “the Arrangements”) will start on 1 January 2003, conducted under
the auspices of the IAEA, and will terminate upon the entry into force of the Agreement, or at such earlier dateas the Participants may decide. The Parties to the ITER Engineering Design Activities and the participants in
the Negotiations on the ITER Joint Implementation wishing to co-operate in the ITER Transitional
Arrangements will be the ITA Participants (“the Participants”).
All four current ITER Parties, namely Canada, the European Union, Japan, and the Russian Federation
confirmed, before the end of 2002, in their letters to the IAEA Director General their intention to participate inthe ITA. The Arrangements are also open to new Participants acceding the Negotiations.
The purpose of the ITA is to prepare for an efficient start of the Agreement, if and when so decided, and tomaintain the integrity of the ITER Project. The scope of the ITA shall include:• Organizational preparations directed at enabling the ITER Legal Entity (the International Fusion Energy
Organization) to enter into effective operation with least possible delay following the entry into force of theITER Implementation Agreement;• Joint technical preparations directed at maintaining the coherence and integrity of the ITER design and atpreparing for an efficient start of ITER construction.
The overall direction of the Arrangements, as well as the supervision of their implementation will be exercisedby the ITER Preparatory Committee (“the Committee”). It will be composed of two members from eachParticipant to the Arrangements. The Committee shall, in particular:• Approve the top level structure of the Transitional Project Team (TPT) and designations to that level;• Approve the programme of work in preparation for ITER construction and exercise overall supervision ofits implementation.
• Approve the designation of Sites for joint technical work by the TPT;
• Co-ordinate the development in the ITA Participants of organizational structure aimed at providing anappropriate frame for the entry into force of an ITER Implementation Agreement.
In exercising its functions, the Committee shall work for a smooth transition towards the organization andstructure for ITER construction being developed in the frame of the ITER Negotiations.
The first meeting of the Committee is scheduled for St. Petersburg, RF, on 17 February 2003.

In addition to the Committee, the structure for the Arrangements shall also comprise a Nominee DirectorGeneral, assisted by his TPT and the Participant Teams (PT).
Each Participant shall contribute staff to the TPT. The TPT should have the capability of assisting the Nominee
Director General in the exercise of his responsibilities and functions. The TPT shall be located at one or moresites for joint technical work so designated by the Committee. Following consensus on site preference, theParticipant on whose territory the site is located shall present to the Committee proposals to establish adesignated site for joint technical work at the preferred site.
Each Participant shall establish its own Team and designate a PT Leader that shall act as a single point ofcontact with the Nominee Director General for the purpose of ensuring the coherence of the Project. The
Participant Teams will undertake technical tasks assigned to them in the agreed Work Programme.
Providing auspices for the ITER Transitional Arrangements, the IAEA will, in addition, undertake assistancefunctions to the ITA, as agreed between the Participants and the IAEA. These functions will include, inter alia,
publication of ITER ITA documents and technical reports and the monthly Newsletter; providing assistance inthe organization of ITER meetings and in ensuring rapid communications between individual Participant
Teams.

UNITED STATES REJOIN ITER
by Dr. M. Roberts, US Contact Person for ITER Negotiations
Upon pressure from the United States Congress, the US Department of Energy had to withdraw from further
American participation in the ITER Engineering Design Activities after the end of its commitment to the EDA
in July 1998. In the years since that time, changes have taken place in both the ITER activity and the US
fusion community’s position on burning plasma physics. Reflecting the interest in the Untied States in pursuing
burning plasma physics, the DOE’s Office of Science commissioned three studies as part of its examinationof the option of entering the Negotiations on the Agreement on the Establishment of the International Fusion
Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project. These were a National Academy
Review Panel Report supporting the burning plasma mission; a Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee(FESAC) report confirming the role of ITER in achieving fusion power production, and “The Lehman Reviewof the ITER project costing and project management processes (for the latter one, see ITER CTA Newsletter,no. 15, December 2002). All three studies have endorsed the US return to the ITER activities.
For instance, the Lehman Committee Report was uniformly positive using expressions like “…the ITER Teamhas prepared a complete cost estimate that is based on sound management and engineering principles …”
and “The credibility of such a value estimate is supported by the design and R&D results that are unusuallymature for a science project facing the decision to fund construction.”
As recent as 28 January, five key members of the US Congress House Science Committee wrote to theEnergy Secretary Spencer Abraham: “We urge you to send a clear message to the ITER community that theUS plans to participate in the Negotiations and the subsequent design, construction and operation of thefacility.”
Based on its analysis of the situation, and responding to all these and similar opinions and views expressedin the United States, the White House released on 30 January a statement by the President, in which it wassaid:“I am pleased to announce that the United States will join ITER, an ambitious international research projectto harness the promise of fusion energy. The results of ITER will advance the effort to produce clean, safe,renewable and commercially available fusion energy by the middle of this century. Commercialization of fusion
has the potential to dramatically improve America’s energy security while significantly reducing air pollution
and emissions of greenhouse gases.”2

This historical decision was announced by DOE Secretary Abraham during his remarks to employees of theDepartment’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
The United States will be working with the other Participants in the ITER Negotiations on the Agreement andis preparing to participate in the ITA.
As Secretary Abraham said in his remarks, the US proposes to provide a number of hardware components
for ITER construction, to be involved in the project construction management and to participate in the ITER
scientific research and technology development. The nature and details of the US participation andcontributions would be determined during the negotiations. DOE’s Office of Science, which has extensive
experience in large, international programs, will lead US negotiations on ITER.

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA JOINS ITER
by Prof. HUO Yuping, Zhengzhou University, People’s Republic of China
The People’s Republic of China is the largest developing country with a projected population of 1.6 - 2 billion
people and an energy consumption growing from the current 1.3 Billion Tons Coal Equivalent (TCE) to morethan 4 Billion TCE by 2050. This large demand needs to be accommodated in a sustainable way, requiring
energy generation in an environmentally friendly way. Fusion is one of the most promising candidates to solve
this important issue.
This explains why in the second half of 2002, the ITER Participants’ delegations to the ITER Negotiations
received expression of interest from the People’s Republic of China in the possibility of Chinese participationin ITER, including joining the ongoing Negotiations.
Subsequently, the exchange of views on that matter was the subject of an informal meeting of the ITER
Parties’ legal experts with Chinese representatives held in Bejing on 25-26 November 2002. As a follow-up to
this meeting, it was decided at the Seventh ITER Negotiations Meeting (Barcelona, 9-10 December 2002) toagree to the Chinese request to be given a copy of the seventh draft agreement, taking into account the PRC’scommitment to join the ITER Negotiations.
In January 2003, an official technical delegation from the ITER International Team and Participant Teams
visited China’s plasma physics laboratories and relevant industries in Bejing, Hefei, Cheng-du and Xi’an. Thevisitors were impressed by the dynamism and optimism shown by all the scientists met and by their strong
wish to participate in ITER. It should be noted that the history of fusion in China goes back to the 1950’s when
Magnetic Confinement Fusion research was first started at the Institute of Atomic Energy in Bejing.
Equipment and methods in use in the laboratories and industries visited were similar to those in the moredeveloped countries. In particular, quality assurance programmes were implemented in a manner that alreadysatisfies European and Japanese customers. It was clear that the Chinese would be able to make an in-kind
contribution of satisfactory quality to ITER construction.
The speed with which the Chinese authorities had made their decision to participate in the ITER Negotiations
was impressive. The Prime Minister and the State Council had already confirmed their decision to apply tojoin ITER as soon as possible, and Mr. Xu Guanhua, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, wrote on
behalf of his government, on 10 January 2003, to the four heads of delegation in the ITER Negotiations,requesting that China participate in the present ITER Negotiations, pointing out that China intends to provide
a substantial contribution to the Project, comparable to what is currently envisaged by some of the participantsin the present Negotiations.
Therefore, a Chinese delegation will participate in the forthcoming Eighth Meeting of the Negotiators in St.
Petersburg in February.

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PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN SPEAKS AT KURCHATOV INSTITUTE
During his official visit to the RussianFederation, Mr. J. Koizumi, Prime
Minister of Japan, was invited to speakon 11 January 2003 to the participants in the International Scientists
Conference to commemorate the 100thbirthday of Academician I.V. Kurchatov.
In the box there are some excerpts fromhis speech.
When asked from people in theaudience at the Kurchatov Institute,Prime Minister Koizumi confirmed thatduring his recent meeting with thePresident of the Russian Federation,
Vladimir Putin, at the Kremlin, they havediscussed the construction of a fusion
installation, which is the ITER Project.

Prime Minister J. Koizumi, accompanied by Acad. E. Velikhov atthe conference at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow

30 years ago, when elected for the firsttime a Member of the Japanese
Parliament (Diet Member), Mr. Koizumi
already participated in the Group of Diet
Members for Future Energy. He
expressed his pleasure to see his young
dream come true with the realization ofITER.

“It is a great honor to be here at the international scientists conference and to speak before such a
distinguished gathering. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Acad. Evgeny Pavlovich
Velikhov, President of the Russian Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, for giving me an opportunity tospeak here today. I would like to give you my basic points of view regarding the role of science andtechnology for the future of mankind.”“The 20th century brought about drastic economic developments for mankind. At the same time, however,it was a century in which mankind experienced several disastrous wars. Science and technology, which
greatly contributed to the economic development, were employed in these wars, to our great regret. In the21st century we must concentrate the wisdom of mankind, and use science and technology for noble
purposes of attaining peace and prosperity.”“Nuclear power, an achievement of science and technology that should be used to open a bright future
for mankind, was used for atomic bombs. This tragedy is felt most strongly by Japan, the only country
victimized by those weapons.”“Acad. Igor Vassilievich Kurchatov, whose 100th birthday falls in this year of 2003, was involved in thedevelopment of nuclear weapons for his own country, amid the U.S.-Soviet confrontation. In parallel withthe development of such nuclear arms, however, he continued research on means for peaceful use ofnuclear power.”“A month before his death, Acad. Kurchatov stated in his last speech: “I am of the firm belief that ourgovernment and people will use science only to promote mankind’s well-being.”

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“We must give thoughts again to this statement by Acad. Kurchatov, which may be regarded as his will.
On the occasion of this commemorating symposium, I would like to appeal strongly to the scientists andpeoples all over the world to accept the responsibility for the use of science and technology for the benefitof mankind.”“It is a dream of mankind to secure environmentally friendly energy resources, featuring strong safety, andallowing practically endless use. It is an objective that must be attained without fail, if the world is tomaintain sustained growth and to accomplish prosperity. Nuclear fusion, which has no restraint inresources and has the least effect on the environment, is a potential power production technology of greatsignificance for the realization of this dream. We can say that ITER is a project which symbolicallydemonstrates the significance of the partnership between Japan and Russia in the field of science andtechnology.”“In Russia, Acad. Velikhov, President of the Russian Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, and staff
members of this Institute, have been the central figures in the research and development of ITER. Above
all, the Tokamak system, used in ITER, was developed in this Kurchatov Institute. In designing the ITER
device, a superconducting coil manufactured by Russia was incorporated in test facilities in Japan, andthe feasibility of a Toroidal Field Coil for ITER was verified. It was a brilliant achievement of thecooperation between Japanese and Russian scientists, being part of ITER’s history.”“Japan strongly hopes that the ITER device will be constructed in Rokkasho Mura, Aomori Prefecture. Ifthe technology developed in Russia eventually would blossom in Japan, it would be the best result of theJapan-Russia cooperation. We look forward to inviting ITER to Rokkasho Mura, and to working withresearchers from Russia and other parts of the world in the ITER project.”

MEETING OF THE ITPA TOPIC GROUP ON SOL AND DIVERTOR PHYSICS
by Drs. B. Lipschultz and N. Asakura
The most recent meeting of the Scrape-Off Layer (SOL) and Divertor Physics Group of the International
Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, on October 21-23, 2002 at theCRPP/EFL laboratory. The meeting was hosted by Dr. R. Pitts of that laboratory, with the help of otherlaboratory staff. There were 23 participants. The meeting format was slightly changed from that of the previousmeeting (February 25-27, 2002) in so far that more time was allowed for discussions, thus making the meeting
more productive.
There were 28 detailed presentations over two and a half days falling into three primary areas:• the physics of ELMs and their effects;• radial transport and wall recycling;• materials issues (T codeposition, use of W for tiles, etc.).
Those presentations might be summarized as follows:
ELMs and disruptions: ELMs were shown to strongly affect the SOL density and temperature profiles
leading to particle deposition on the first-wall (DIII-D). Fast measurements of the divertor ELM energy pulse(duration longer than MHD time scale, and triangle waveform) in JET indicate reduction in power loading
predictions for ITER. During disruptions (thermal quench), power balance studies cannot explain exhausted
plasma energy (JET). In addition, the JET divertor disruption energy deposition (< 10%) is much lower thanother experiments (AUG and DIII-D). These results suggested that part of power loss reached to the first wall.
Better measurements of radial transport during ELMs and disruptions are planned and are required forprediction of the heat load level on first wall in ITER (see meeting summary).

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Radial transport studies: An initial comparison of SOL plasma profile in DIII-D and C-MOD L-mode plasmas
using dimensionless scaling showed that the two experiments had similar normalized Te and ne profiles at theouter SOL. The analysis of radial transport coefficients Deff and Veff also showed essentially the same scaledtransport even though the neutral penetration is significantly different near the separatrix. Data has beencollected at JET for similar comparisons. Data collection from other tokamaks is being planned.
An initial comparison of the separatrix density profiles from JET and AUG were compared with the goal ofbetter predicting the seperatrix density in future tokamaks. The pedestal profiles appear to follow a similar
scaling – (n∇T/T∇n) ~ 2. which would have important implications for predicting pedestal behavior. Profiles
from other tokamaks are being collected.
T retention: Estimations of T-retention, behind the plasma facing components such as louvers (in JET) wereshown to be very variable (a factor of 40), but still imply too large a T inventory in ITER where carbon is usedat the divertor target tiles. The selection of C in a BPX divertor will be reviewed based on these results andthe JET disruption power loading. Amelioration/removal techniques must be emphasized as well. Long pulse(200s) operation in Tore Supra indicated that 60% of the injected gas was absorbed at the wall and limiter at
the start, and drops as a function of time. The result suggested that wall retention limit was 600 s. Thisevaluation has important implications for density control and T inventory as well as the JET louver results. New
results on He bubble formation in W stirred considerable interest.
Other areas: Detlev Reiter presented a study of the effect of including radiation transport in 2D edge plasmatransport codes. This has not been fully implemented yet. But the effect is very strong, reducing the degreeof detachment. The inclusion of line broadening mechanisms (Zeeman splitting) should reduce this effect.
The discussions emphasized what all experiments could provide on ELM characteristics, ranging fromcharacteristic energy deposition times and profiles to dependence on pedestal characteristics. The excitementof a variety of experiments contributing data extended to radial transport measurements as well. At one point
the participants came to the issues of the choice of first-wall materials, both the wall itself and the divertor.
There was a strong mandate to review the ITER materials choices in view of the new knowledge of ELMs,disruptions and general radial transport. This topic has been chosen for being emphasized at the next
meeting.
The next meeting is scheduled to take place immediately after the Thirtieth International Conference onControlled Fusion and Plasma Physics in St Petersburg (July 2003) and another one in Japan sometime in
November or December 2003.

Participants in the Meeting
N. Asakura (Japan), G. Counsell (EU), G. Federici (ITER), W. Fundamenski (EU), P. Ghendrih (EU),A. Kallenbach (EU), G. Kirnev (RF), A. Kirschner (EU), S. Krashenninkov (US), A. Kukushkin (ITER),
A. Leonard (US), B. Lipschultz (US), T. Loarer (EU), A. Loarte (EU), A. Mahdavi (US), G. Matthews (EU),V. Philipps (EU), R. Pitts (EU), G. Porter (US), D. Reiter (EU), M. Shimada (ITER), S. Takamura (Japan),
D. Whyte (US).

Printed by the IAEA in Austria
April 2003

03-00561

Items to be considered for inclusion in the ITER CTA Newsletter should be submitted to B. Kuvshinnikov, ITER Office, IAEA,
Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, or Facsimile: +43 1 2633832, or e-mail: c.basaldella@iaea.org(phone +43 1 260026392).