CELEX: 51987PC0302R(01)
Language: en
Date: 1987-07-24
Title: - Proposal for a Council Regulation adopting a research and training programme (1987-1991) in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion.#- Proposal for a Council Decision approving amendments to the Statutes of the Joint European Torus (JET), Joint Undertaking.#- Statement "Environmental Impact and Economic Prospects of Fusion".#(submitted by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (87) 302
Vol. 1987/0180
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
Conformément au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983 concernant
l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique européenne et de
la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, p. 1) modifié en dernier
lieu par le règlement (UE) 2015/496 du Conseil du 17 mars 2015 (JO L79 du 25. 3.2015, p. 1), ce
dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents classifiés présents dans ce dossier
ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit règlement ou sont considérés déclassifiés
conformément aux articles 26(3) et 59(2) de la décision (UE, Euratom) 2015/444 de la
Commission du 13 mars 2015 concernant les règles de sécurité aux fins de la protection des
informations classifiées de l'Union européenne.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 concerning
the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic Community and the
European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as last amended by Council
Regulation (EU) 2015/496 of 17 March 2015 (OJ L 79, 27.3.2015, p. 1), this file is open to the
public. Where necessary, classified documents in this file have been declassified in conformity
with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation or are considered declassified in conformity with
Articles (26.3) and 59(2) of the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 of 13 March 2015
on the security rules for protecting EU classified information.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1. Februar
1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und
der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983, S. 1), zuletzt geändert durch die
Verordnung (EU) Nr. 2015/496 vom 17. März 2015 (ABI. L 79 vom 25.3.2015, S. 1), ist dieser Akt
der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in diesem Akt in
Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5 der genannten Verordnung freigegeben; beziehungsweise werden
sie auf Grundlage von Artikel 26(3) und 59(2) der Entscheidung der Kommission (EU, Euratom)
2015/444 vom      13.   März 2015     über die   Sicherheitsvorschriften für den Schutz von  EU-
Verschlusssachen als herabgestuft angesehen.
 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                         COM(87 ) 302 final .
                                                    Brussels , 24 July 1987 .
         - Proposal for a Council Regulation adopting a research and
            training programme ( 1987-1991 ) in the field of controlled
            thermonuclear fusion .
         - Proposal for a Council Decision approving amendments to the
            Statutes of the Joint European Torus (JET), Joint Undertaking .
         - Statement "Environmental Impact and Economic Prospects of
            Fusion".
                          ( submitted by the Commission)
    COM(87 ) 302 final .
 ---pagebreak---                                                              2
                            TABLE OF CONTENTS
1987-1991 FUSION PROGRAMME
                                                          P*
A)   EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM                               3
     Appendix   :  Review of scientific and technical    20
                   achievements within the European
                   Fusion Programme during 1984-1986
B)   PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION adopting a         41
     research and training programme ( 1987-1991 )
     in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion
C)   FINANCIAL RECORD SHEET                              49
D)   OPINION OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COMMITTEE   66
     OPINION OF THE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FUSION
     PROGRAMME
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    3
                         A) EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
I.   MOTIVATION
     In Article 3 of its decision^ of 12 March 1985 adopting a
     research and training programme in the field of controlled
     thermonuclear fusion ( 1985 to 1989 ), the Council of Ministers
     stated :
     "During the second year , the programme shall be reviewed . On the
     basis of this review , the Commission will submit to the Council a
     proposal for revision aimed at replacing the present programme by a
     new five-year programme in 1987 .".
     The Commission submits hereafter to Council a proposal for a new
     five-year fusion programme covering the period 1987 to 1991 . The
     review of the ongoing activities on which the proposal is based is
     given in the Appendix of the Explanatory Memorandum .
     In parallel with this programme proposal , the Commission submits
     also to Council a proposal for the prolongation of the JET Joint
     Undertaking to the end of 1992 . ( see Section V).
     The two   proposals are programmatically and financially coherent
     with the  Decision concerning the Framework Programme of Community
     Activity  in the field of Research and  id Technological
                                                iecnnoioE     Developments
     ( 1987 to                               nn
               1991 ) adopted by the Council on ... (2)  1
                                                        . !
    O.J. L 83 dated 25.3.1985
(2)
    0. J* ••• dâtôd •••
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   4.
II . FUSION AS A COMMUNITY PROGRAMME
     In conformity with reiterated Council Decisions , " the Community
     Fusion Programme is a long-term cooperative project embracing all
     the  work  carried   out  in  the  Member States  in  the  field  of
     controlled thermonuclear fusion .   It is designed to lead in due
     course to the joint construction of prototype reactors with a view
     to their industrial production and marketing ."
     The long-term potential of fusion , namely to open a new way of
     power generation , having a moderate impact on the environment and
     using a practically inexhaustible fuel , justifies to vigorously
     continue its development , whatever can be the short term
     fluctuations of oil price . Fusion could bring an essential
     contribution to the reduction of the economic , ecological and
     political vulnerability of Europe in the next century .
     Fusion has already today a large high-technology content : JET , the
     specialized devices in construction or in operation in the
     associated    laboratories ,  and   the NET oriented      components
     development , are by themselves a demonstration of high technology ,
     with spin-offs ( in particular in the fields of superconducting
     magnet technology , robotics , and high power microwave systems ) to
     the benefit of other branches of science and of European industry .
     The role of industry is expected to grow appreciably when NET
     enters the phase of engineering design .
     The main reasons for conducting research and development in the
     field of fusion on a Community basis are :
     -    the scale of the human and financial resources required , which
          suggests that such a development could hardly be carried out
          on a national basis ;
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    5.
      -    the long time-scale of the effort ( extending into the next
           century) needed to arrive at the construction of the reactor ;
           the   existence of a collective need ,   common to all Member
           States ;
      -    the realisation of a European market for European industries
           in domains of high-technologies ;
      -    in the event of success , the opening-up of a wide Community
           market for the European reactor ;
           to provide a potential partner of comparable size to the 3
           other world fusion programmes , fostering thereby international
           collaboration in the field of fusion ;
      -    the quality of the European Fusion Programme whose leading
           position is acknowledged worldwide , and to which Sweden and
           Switzerland are fully associated .
      Fusion is therefore in line with the criteria pertinent to Community
      R&D programmes .
III . OBJECTIVES OF THE 1987-1991 FUSION PROGRAMME
      The way towards fusion reactors for energy generation can be
      schematically and somewhat arbitrarily divided into three stages :
      demonstration    of   scientific   feasibility ,  of   technological
      feasibility , and eventually of economic feasibility . Presently ,
      with JET , the medium-size Tokamaks , and their foreign equivalents ,
      we are still primarily in the scientific stage . The Next European
      Torus (NET), now in the pre-design phase , is conceived at present
      as a device which should fully confirm the scientific feasibility
      of fusion in a first phase , and confront the problem of technolo¬
      gical feasibility in a second phase .
      Within the strategy of the European Fusion Programme (JET and the
      other Tokamaks - NET - DEMOnstration reactor), the main objectives
      for the period 1987-91 are :
      -    to establish the physics and technology basis necessary for
           the detailed design of NET ; in the field of physics and
           plasma engineering this implies the full exploitation of JET
           and of several medium-size specialized tokamaks in existence
           or in construction , and in the field of technology the
           strengthening of the current fusion technology programme ;
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   6.
     -     to embark on the detailed design of NET before the end of the
           programme period if the necessary data base exists at that
           time ;
           to explore the reactor potential of some alternative lines
           (mainly Stellarator and Reversed Field Pinch) .
     The Programme Proposal has been prepared with the collaboration of
     the whole fusion community through the peer group review system
     operated by the Consultative Committee for the Fusion Programme
     (CCFP ) , and by the JET Council for JET .
IV . PRESENT SITUATION
     The European Fusion Programme has been able to concentrate on the
     most promising line , the toroidal magnetic confinement , and within
     this approach to maintain the necessary breadth . Scientific and
     technical achievements place Europe in the forefront of world-wide
     magnetic fusion research :
     -    JET    is  the leading fusion experiment   in the world    ; it
          achieved its     initial objectives for the basic performance
          phase on time and in budget , and the implementation of the
          extension to full performance is well under way ; during its
          first years of operation ( initiated in 1983 ), it has made a
           large step towards the demonstration of the scientific
           feasibility of fusion , producing already a substantial amount
          of fusion reactions in Deuterium .
          The European medium-size Tokamaks contribute in a powerful way
           to the progress of fusion and to the future success of JET by
          experimenting with different configurations , by exploring new
          heating methods and by developing new diagnostics .
     -    Europe is also leading in research on Stellarators and
          Reversed Field Pinches , which are alternative configurations
           to the Tokamak .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                7.
-    European industry has built all these devices ( to give an
     example , more than 98% in cost of JET contracts has been
     placed within Europe ) and has already been entrusted with some
     long-term advanced development . Its involvement should make a
     qualitative and quantitative jump when a decision is taken on
     the start of the engineering design of NET .
-    NET is in the pre-design phase . The main performance
     specifications have been tentatively selected , resulting in a
     coherent set of parameters which is presently being used for
     further optimization and for guidance of the technology
     programme .
-    The orderly implementation of the technology programme is an
     important achievement of the recent years . The main part of
     the work is oriented towards NET , but there are also longer
     term activities .  Efforts are concentrated   in the  fields of
     superconducting magnets , tritium , blanket , remote handling ,
     materials , safety and environment .
Outside magnetic fusion , a "keep in touch" activity is maintained
in the field of laser-fusion , and muon-catalysed fusion is kept
under review .
The Community approach , which has made possible the setting up of
the JET Joint Undertaking ( 1978) and of the NET-Team ( 1983), has
led also to the implementation of an intensive collaboration
between the fusion laboratories . Most of the Associations do work
for another Association and all of them work for JET and for NET
through different types of contracts and agreements . The European
Fusion Programme has efficiently built a true scientific and
technical community of large and small laboratories , readily able
to welcome newcomers , and directed towards a common goal . This
situation makes Europe an appealing partner for international
collaboration both in bilateral frames ( Canada , Japan , United
States ) and within multinational organisations (OECD , IAEA).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       8.
      Among the many dispositions taken to ensure the true Community
      character of the Fusion Programme , staff mobility deserves a
      special mention : each year more than 200 professionals ( out of a
      total of about 1,200 professionals) are sent , via "mobility
      contracts ", to work outside their home laboratory for periods
      ranging from 1 month to 1 year . JET represents an extreme case in
      this domain : this mission-oriented project is run by personnel
      having    a   "return-ticket ",   i.e.   national  organizations   have
      committed themselves to re-integrate their staff after termination
      of secondment to JET . Since the start of the project , about one
      half of the project team returned to the Associations after
      completion of their work and have been replaced by other staff
      having the required qualification for the new tasks to be
      undertaken .
      A more     detailed   review of   the  ongoing activity   is  given  in
      Appendix .
V.    TIME SCHEDULE
      The foreseen time schedule of the various machines , and of their
      heating systems , is schematically represented on Figure 1 .
                          Figure Caption to Figure 1
              Project development plan of the main devices
. The different heating methods are represented by different colours :
   Black :        Ohmic Heating (OH)
   Yellow :       Neutral Beam Injection (NBI )
   Red :          Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating ( ICR)
   Green :        Lower Hybrid Resonance Heating (LHR)
                  or Current-drive ( LHCD )
   Blue :         Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECR)
   Purple :       Alfven wave heating (AW)
. The thickness of each colour stripe is proportional to the heating
   power through the ports (1 mm per MW , except for JET where the total
   power is about 50 MW) .
. The construction phase is indicated by a dashed black line .
 ---pagebreak---                         1986      1987   1988  1989      1990     1991
                                        –
       JET               JET
                   h
                   t
                                  PETIJLA
( Grenoble
  Fontenay (+ FOM) _ TF: R
                      TORE-SUPRÀ L
  Cadarache
                                - – -   – - -
                   Π- - -                      --     - -
                                                              _ -   -_ -
  Garching             ASDEX                    ['
                                                                '···*· .      v
                             AiSDEX- upgrad e
                                                     -1
  Frascati               FT
                                         FT U
                                _ nn Έ
  Culham
                      COMPA_SS_ _
                       TFYTOR
  Jülich (+ ERM)   i-f7- . .
                                                        TCA
  Lausanne
                                               TÇV ^
  Garching            W7AS
                                    [                    _
  Madrid                           TJII                         –
  Culham                                      - HBT> r
                                                     t
  Padova                                 RFX
  Stockholm              EXT FlAP
                               I-
                                                                       CR86.148
 ---pagebreak---                                                              11 .
JET : Scientific results obtained in the recent years Indicate
that , in order to fully exploit the potential of the JET project in
trying to reach its approved aims (e.g. to approach as closely as
possible the conditions needed in a reactor) by making the best
possible use of the capabilities of the device , it will be
necessary to add some supplementary equipment . This will require
more time and more funds than hitherto envisaged . The JET Council
has therefore proposed to extend the statutory lifetime of the JET
Joint Undertaking , ending now on the 31st May 1990 , up to the end
of 1992 ; this would ensure an optimum use of the existing
equipments and of the new ones still to be installed , leading
therefore to a better foundation for the design of NET . In parallel
with the present programme proposal , the Commission is submitting
for approval (Art . 50 of the Euratom Treaty) to the Council and to
the European Parliament an amendment of the JET Statutes for the
prolongation of the Project ; the scientific argumentation for the
prolongation of JET is developped in this document .
NET : In accordance with the March 1985 Council decision , the NET
activity    has been  slowed   down , adopting  now , as  a  working
hypothesis , 1990 as a date for the decision on the detailed design ,
and 1993 / 94 for the decision on the construction of NET . These
dates fit the new time schedule for JET and allow for more evidence
on the plasma performance to be gathered from the medium-size
machines .
Other Tokamaks : The 4 specialized medium-size tokamaks now under
construction in the Associations (Tore-Supra , Asdex-Upgrade , FTU ,
and Compass ) will become operational around 1988 , and will
therefore be able to give essential contributions to the
engineering design of NET . The construction of another tokamak
(T.C.V. in Switzerland), aiming at exploring the limits of beta ,
has been approved recently . The design of a high field compact
ignition device ( IGNITOR , in Italy) is also foreseen . Tokamaks
presently in operation will be thoroughly exploited (Textor ,
Asdex) , or phased out (Dite , FT , ...) depending upon their
potential and the availability of research teams of sufficient
strength .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      12 .
     Other devices : Within the two lines alternative to tokamaks ,
     machines are being built (W 7 AS , RFX) or are planned (TJ II , W 7
     X) in such a way that the choice of the device best suitable for
     DEMO can be based in due time on proven experimental evidence ;
     existing devices (HBTX , ... ) will be phased out after full
     exploitation . A smaller device (Extrap , in Sweden), for the
     exploration of a different concept , is in the operation phase .
     Technology : The technology programme is geared to match the new
     NET-mi lest ones , in the first place to generate the technological
     data base required for the decisions on NET . When the decision will
     be taken to start the detailed design of NET , an enhanced RD&D
     programme will have to be launched , mainly focussed on the
     industrial construction and the tests of prototypes of NET
     components .
VI . STRUCTURE
     The  Commission     is  responsible   for  the  implementation  of   the
     Programme . The consultative structure consists of a single body ,
     the Consultative Committee of the Fusion Programme (CCFP) , assisted
     by two sub-committees : the Programme Committee (PC) for questions
     related   to    physics   and  plasma   engineering , and   the  Fusion
     Technology Steering Committee ( FTSC) for NET and Technology . For
     the JET Joint Undertaking , the responsibilities are vested in the
     JET Council and in the Director of the Project . The JET Council is
     assisted by the JET Executive Committee and may seek the advice of
     a JET Scientific Council . The Fusion Programme will also be
     submitted to external independent evaluation : in particular during
     the third year of the 1987-91 programme , the Commission will seek
     an evaluation by a Panel of high level experts , which will provide
     the basis for a revision of the programme following the sliding
     programme concept .
     The Programme is implemented by means of contracts of Association
     between EURATOM and the national organizations active in fusion ,
     and by the JET Joint Undertaking , and through a multilateral
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      13 .
      concerning NET . Also , a part of the programme of the Joint Research
      Center is dedicated to fusion technology , whose fusion activities
      are coordinated with the rest of the technology programme through
      the  FTSC . There are   12 Associations distributed in    10 countries
      ( including Sweden and Switzerland) ; preliminary discussions are
      underway with Greece and Portugal for the possible setting up of
      two new Associations . Industry is involved through development
      contracts as well as through the manufacture of equipment .
      This structure is thought to be well adapted also for the future ,
      when the role of the presently physics-oriented Associations (whose
      research programmes provide the necessary breadth to the European
      effort) will eventually be taken over by           technology-oriented
      national institutions and later by industry .
VII . INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
      International cooperation in the field of fusion has always been
      very active . In the past , it was mostly the object of agreements
      on specific points . At present , wider and more substantial forms of
      collaboration are being implemented or explored .
      -     Bilateral Framework Agreements .
            Canada : Memorandum of Understanding ( Council Decision of
            20.01.86) signed on March 6 , 1986 .
            USA : Agreement of Cooperation ( Council Decision of 15.09.86 )
            signed on December 15 , 1986 .
            Japan : A draft Council decision authorizing the Commission to
            negotiate an Agreement for Cooperation was proposed by the
            Commission to the Council on February 26 , 1987 .
      -     Implementing Agreements in the framework of the IEA (OECD)
            Tokamaks : TEXTOR , signed on 5.10.1977 , 15 years duration ;
                       ASDEX and ASDEX-UPGRADE , signed on 31.7.1985 ,
                       10 years duration ;
                       THE THREE LARGE TOKAMAKS ( JET , JT-60 and TFTR) ,
                       signed on 15.1.1986 , 5 years duration .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        14 .
           Alternative Lines : STELLARATORS , signed on 31.7.85 , 5 years
                         duration ;
                         REVERSED FIELD PINCH , in preparation .
           Fusion Technology : LARGE COIL TASK , signed on 6.10.77 , the
                         facility is under exploitation .
                         FUSION MATERIALS , signed on 21.10.81 : Annex I
                         discontinued ; duration of Annex II , 10 years .
      -    Cooperation in the framework of the IAEA
           Participation of EURATOM , together with the three other large
           fusion programmes ( Japan , USA , USSR) , in the INTOR workshops
           since 1978 .
      -    Fusion Working Group _(Technolog£, Growth & Employment^ GroujJ -
           Ver sail lc s_Summ± t )
           Consultation between the fusion programmes within the Economic
           Summit membership , in particular in relation to the Next Step .
      -    Quadripartite_cooperation_initiative on an International
           Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ( ITER) under the IAEA
           auspices
           At technical level the possibility is explored that the four
           large Fusion programmes of the world (EC , Japan , USA and USSR)
           coordinate their efforts aiming at a specific goal : producing
           by 1990 through a collaborative effort of four parties having
           equal status and making equal contributions a conceptual
           design of an ITER , and coordinating supportive research
           activities . A technical working group has been appointed in
           order to prepare in 1987 concrete proposals on the detailed
           objectives of ITER and on the organizational modalities of the
           conceptual design phase 1988-1990 . The NET activity , which
           will continue as planned until a possible international
           solution offering convincing guarantees is found for the Next
           Step , could form a focal point for such a collaboration .
VIII . FINANCIAL VOLUME
      The present Programme Proposal concerns only JET and the General
      Programme . The fusion activities of the JRC , which from a
      scientific and technical point of view are fully integrated within
      the overall fusion programme , are , however , governed by another
      Programme Decision .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       15 .
      In current money ( from 1.1.85 onwards , inflation has been taken as
      4% per year) the amount of Community resources required for the
      1987-91 Programme Proposal ( exclusive of JRC , Sweden and
      Switzerland ) is estimated at :
      General Programme               533 MioECU
      JET                             378 MioECU^
                Total                 911 MioECU
     A breakdown of     the  resources between the various activities      is
     given in Table 1 .
     The estimation has been made on the basis of             the assumption
     underlying the present proposal , namely that the progress in
      science and technology will be such that NET would enter into the
     phase of engineering design before the end of the programme period
      (see paragraphs III and V) . The decision to start the engineering
     design of NET will be a major one , for which the Commission will
     make in due time a proposal to the Council .
     The following table shows the repartition between JET , the general
     programme and the JRC of the " fresh" money foreseen for Fusion in
      the frame of the Framework Programme 1987-91 , as well as the
     amounts brought forward from the current programmes .
 HioECU                     Fresh money          Amounts        Total
                            Corresponding        brought        Allocation
                            To 1987-91           forward        For Period
                            Framework            From 1985-89   1987-91
                            Programme
General Programme            362               171               533
JET                          169               209               378
TOTAL - FUSION PROGR .       531               380               911
JRC                           60                 15               75
TOTAL                        591               395               986
(1)
    See footnote 8 page 18 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     16 .
      With reference to Art . 4 of the proposed Council Regulation where it
      is stipulated that the Council Decision on the 1985-1989 programme
      is repealed with effect from 1 January 1987 , the Commission points
      out that the amounts which have been authorized under the relevant
      headings     of  the  1985  and  1986  budgets   pursuant to Decision
      85 / 201 /Euratom and which on 1 january 1987 have not yet been
      committed , or amounts which , by that date , have been committed but
      not yet paid , will be used for the execution of the present
      programme .
IX . STAFF
      The number of Euratom staff authorized by the previous Council
      decision is :
                   165 temporary employees for JET
                   105 staff for the General Programme
      For the period 1987-91 , no modification is proposed for the General
      Programme , but a strengthening of the JET staff ( 191 instead of
      165 ) is mandatory in order to make possible the implementation and
      full exploitation of the technical enhancements within the foreseen
      life time of the Project . When NET will move from the pre-design
      phase to the engineering design one , new propositions will be made
      to Council .
X. CONCLUSION
      By virtue of its important objectives , its excellent record , its
      technological interest and its absolute Community character , fusion
      continues to be one of the most important R&D programmes sponsored
      by the Commission . As announced at the time of the programme
      decision 1985-89 , and noted by the Council , in the years 1985 and
      1986 the Commission has run the programme within the financial
      level indicated in the 1985-89 programme proposal . The Commission
      considers that the funding level indicated in its present proposal
      is necessary in order to maintain the momentum of the programme
      which is fully oriented towards the Next Step , and to account for
      the joining of the new member States in 1986 and the mounting
      involvement of industry . Following the sliding programme concept ,
      the Commission will make in 1989 a proposal for programme revision ,
      designed to lead to a new five years programme starting on
      1.1.1990 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                    (1)
              Table 1      Community Participation      for the period 1987-1991 , in MioECU , current money
NET
    Staff salaries , allowances , missions                         27
    Work in Associations                                           10
    Host support                                                   15
    Industrial Design                                              28
              Sub-Total                                            80 - 3 (3) -           77
TECHNOLOGY
    Basic work in Assoc .                                          65
    Priority actions                                               35
    Industrial RD /D                                               37
              Sub-Total                                           137 - 13 (3) -         124
PHYSICS AND PLASMA ENGINEERING
    Running Costs in Assoc .                                      231 (4)
    Normal priority actions                                        26  5
                                                                   93 (5)
    Large devices with heating
    Support of JET (Art . 14)                                      10
    Industrial RD /D                                                9
              Sub-Total                                           369 - 67 (3) -         302
MOBILITY/MANAGEMENT ^^ (including fellowships and evaluation)                             30
    Total GENERAL PROGRAMME                                                              533 ( 7)
    JET                                                           425 - 19 (3) - 28 -    378 (8)
    GRAND TOTAL                                                                          911
                                                     ( 9)
         JRC (not included in the present proposal)                                       75
         Overall Fusion Activity                                                         986
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     18 .
Footnotes to Table 1
( 1) Without Sweden and Switzerland , but including the activity in the
     new Member States .
( 2) From 1.1.85 onwards , inflation is taken as 4% per year .
(3)  Funds committed in 1985-86 for 1987 .
(4)  Including funds for a possible new device in Madrid .
(5)  Including funds for initiating the construction of a possible new
     Stellarator W-VII.X at Garching .
( 6) Inclusive of the funds necessary to finance at 42% the Commission
     staff in the Associations .
(7)  To which should be added any positive balance from the
     contributions of Sweden and Switzerland under the programme
     exclusive of JET .
(8)  The total Members contributions required to finance JET 's payments
     during   the  programme   period  1987  to  1991   are   estimated   at
     531 MioECU ( see "Project development plan and project cost
     estimate ", Table 16 of the Annex , approved by the JET Council on
     the 26th of March 1987 ). From this amount 80% , equal to 425 MioECU ,
     are financed through the Community budget . Out of this amount ,
     19 MioECU have been committed by the Commission prior to 1987 . The
     remaining 406 MioECU will be financed as follows :
     .    378 MioECU from the Programme allocation for JET ;
     .    28 MioECU as the participation to JET            of   Sweden   and
          Switzerland paid via the Community budget .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  19 .
(9) Covers the ongoing fusion technology activities at the JRC , namely
    reactors studies and risk assessment , safety in tritium technology ,
    integrity of structural materials , and breeding blanket studies .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    20 .
APPENDIX
            REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
          WITHIN THE EUROPEAN FUSION PROGRAMME DURING 1984-1986
I. INTRODUCTION
When the previous programme proposal 1985-1989 was submitted , the
scientific situation was the following : the evolution of the fusion
programmes in the world had shown the favorable prospects of magnetic
confinement compared with inertial confinement , as well as the leading
role of the tokamak approach on which Next Step devices should be based .
Europe had played a major role in advancing the understanding of the
physics of magnetic confinement in toroidal devices and substantial
progress had been made in plasma heating :
-     JET ( Joint European Torus ) had started operation and the first
      results ( in the ohmic regime ) were very promising ;
-     megawatt-multisecond heating systems were becoming available on
      medium-size devices ;
-     the degradation of confinement time with increasing heating power
      remained a subject of concern , but the discovery of the "H-regime "
      at Garching had revived confidence that such deleterious effects of
      plasma heating could be avoided , or at least reduced .
On this basis , the objectives of the programme 1985-1989 were :
      to establish the physics basis for NET (Next European Torus ) ; the
      emphasis on plasma heating was stressed ;
-     to provide the technology basis for NET ;
      to explore the reactor potential of some alternative lines .
Following the March 1985 Council decision , NET activity had to be slowed
down , and the technology programme has accordingly been reshaped in
order to match the new NET-milestones . The assessment of the scientific
and technical achievements presented in the following Sections is made
in the light of the objectives set in the 1985-1989 programme proposal ,
but also taking into account the constraints resulting from the last
Council Decision .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         21 .
II . TOKAMAKS
Europe is devoting most of its efforts to this line which is worldwide
the most advanced . The main problems to which tokamak research was
confronted during the last years ( and remains confronted to a large
extent ) were :
       the impact of additional heating on plasma behaviour , such as the
       degradation of the energy confinement time and of the plasma purity
       degree when increasing the heating power ;
       the plasma behaviour when approaching operational limits of the
       plasma density n , the " safety" factor q , or the ratio of plasma
       pressure to magnetic pressure
The results obtained on JET and in medium-size tokamaks lead to a deeper
understanding of plasma phenomena , with some insight in " fine structure "
effects ( e.g. profile consistency ) : this suggests new ways to remedy
the deleterious effects tokamaks are confronted with in presence of
strong additional heating .
The progress in the construction of four new specialized medium-size
tokamaks , due to become operational in 1988 , is also reported ; the
contribution of these devices will be essential for elaborating the
engineering design of NET . Another specialized tokamak will be
commissioned in 1989 .
II^1_JET
JET is the leading fusion experiment       in the world ; it has already made
substantial progress towards the           demonstration of the scientific
feasibility of fusion ; it achieved        on time and in budget its initial
objectives for the basic performance       phase ; the implementation of the
extension to full performance is well      under way .
II . 1.1 Ohmic heating ( OH) regime . The first operation phase , up to late
1984 , aimed at achieving clean plasmas suitable for additional heating
studies of later phases :
       JET was found to behave in a similar way to smaller tokamaks .
       Stable control of the position , size and shape of the D
       cross-section plasma with elongations up to 1.7 was achieved .
-      Discharges of up to 15 s were obtained without disruptions as long
                               -3.    . . « 20
       as a density limit n^On ) = 1.10        B(T) /R(m)qc ^ was not exceeded .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      22 .
-      Plasma currents of up to 3.7MA were obtained for several seconds
       (pulse lengths of 15s ), at magnetic field of 3.45T . Electron and
       ion temperatures up to 3 and 2.5keV , respectively were produced ,
                                     19 -3
       with densities up to     3.10    m , at a record energy confinement
       time of r- 0.8s . Each of the parameters - temperature , density and
       energy confinement time - was within a factor of two or three of
       the value required in a fusion reactor .
-      Impurity levels presented a problem , as they reduce the number of
       plasma ions available for fusion and cause radiation losses .
       Experiments with low-Z ( carbon ) tiles on the inner walls and a
       carbonized vessel showed reduced levels of metal and oxygen
       impurities .
II . 1.2 Additional heating studies .      The second phase of operations
started in early 1985 , after the installation of two radiofrequency (RF)
antennae in the torus each powered by a 3 MW generator . Power was
coupled to the plasma at the ion cyclotron resonance ( ICR) frequency of
                                      3
introduced minority species (H , He ). Tokamak operations in JET resumed
in November 1985 after a further shut-down to add new systems including
the first neutral injection box , additional carbon protection in the
vessel , a third ICRF antenna and a single deuterium pellet launcher .
During 1986 :
-      The toroidal magnetic field was routinely operated at its maximum
       design value of 3.45 T. The plasma current , plasma position ,
       elongation and shape were all controlled by feedback circuits .
       Plasma currents of 5 MA were routinely obtained with a flat top
       duration up to 4.5 s . Stable control with elongations up to 1.8
       was obtained . Nevertheless , the plasma current remained restricted
       within an operation range depending on this elongation .
-      The three RF antennae have been regularly operated at a combined
       power of up to 7.2 MW for 2 s pulses . Experiments with 8 s pulse
       duration were performed delivering 40 MJ to the plasma . A long
       pulse (/V10 s ) neutral beam injector , with eight beam sources , has
       been operated since early 1986 . A total beam power of 5.5 MW of
       neutral hydrogen (H° ) or of 9 MW of neutral deuterium (D° ) could be
       injected into the torus . Up to 40 MJ were delivered to the plasma .
-      Preliminary deuterium pellet injection experiments have been per¬
       formed , with an injector delivering a single 3.6 or 4.6 mm diameter
       pellet at a speed of up to 1.2 km/s , in various conditions of
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   23 .
magnetic configurations . This allows to increase the density limit
in JET and reduce the effective ion charge            of the plasma .
While the global energy confinement time could reach values of up to
0.9 s in ohmic discharges , confinement degradation was confirmed
with RF , NBI and combined heating ( Ci            tot
                                                         in the material
limiter    L-mode   operation .   Typically ,   at   the  highest  plasma
currents , r,E dropped from 0.9 to 0.4 s with P tot * 10 MW in this
operation regime .
The magnetic separatrix mode has been demonstrated on JET (in both
single and double null X-points ) . H-mode operation was obtained
with a single null X-point and has all the characteristics of
H-mode discharges obtained in other tokamaks ( flatter Te-profiles
with sharp gradients at the edge , power threshold for reaching the
H-regime , improvement of confinement time by a factor of about 2 as
compared to the L-mode operation with the same heating power , ...).
Even in this H-regime , however , there appears to be further confine¬
ment degradation with increasing heating power .
The improvement in plasma confinement with increased plasma current
has clearly been seen in both limiter and X-point operation . The
changes currently being introduced in the poloidal system should
allow in 1987 to reach 7 MA in limiter operation , and 4 MA in single
null operation .
In combined operation with NBI , peak electron densities exceeding
    20 -3
10      m   have been obtained , lasting 0.5 s after pellet injection ,
with a corresponding electron temperature dropping down to 1 keV .
For line averaged electron density ne ~ 3.10 m , the effective
ion charge         usually ranges between 2 and 3 , hut can be reduced
to nearly 1 (during 0.5 s) after pellet injection . The - observed
compatibility of pellet injection with ICRH gives hope for multiple
pellet injection in 1987 .
"Giant" sawteeth could be obtained with ICRH alone , generally for a
power deposition at the center . "Monster" sawteeth could last 1.2 s
 (with Te = 7 keV) and were connected with flat q-profiles . " Snake"
oscillations (m =n = 1 ) develop after pellet injection (A ne /ne ■
100% , A-Te /Te - 20%).
_     .  .                  .                 .                        .« 19
Peak ion temperatures above 12 keV at low plasma density (2 10
   -3
m ) were obtained with neutral beam heating .
                          A
The fusion product
              product n_. Ti ^
                       iL Ti L varies
                                varies little
                                        little2 with power in the L-mode
                        ®     E 20 -3
 ( the best value being 1 10        m    keV.js at 5 MA in the ohmic
                                         keV.s
régime) .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                   24 .
                                                        20
         Such a value could be doubled ( 2.10 ) in the H-mode , ( 10 MW of
         additional heating , X-point operation). A further factor of 4-5 is
         still needed for "breakeven", which now appears to be a " reasonable"
         goal .
I I . 2 . 0THER_T0KAMAKS_IN_0PERATI0N
The European medium-size tokamaks contribute in a powerful way to the
progress of fusion and are instrumental to the success of JET by
experimenting with different configurations ( such as the magnetic
divertor , leading to possibility of favourable "H-mode " of plasma
confinement ), by exploring new methods for heating or current-drive , and
by developing new diagnostics .
II . 2.1 . PETULA (Grenoble ). Last year 's operation concentrated on various
scenarios of current-drive by lower hybrid ( LH) waves :
                                              19   -3
         At low plasma density (^ 10              m ) , all the plasma current was
         driven ;
-        At  highw
                      plasma
                      *
                             density ,
                                    ^ '
                                          but    below     a    density
                                                                      -
                                                                        limit  of    n T
                                                                                            =
              19    -3   ..   .                               .        .
         8.10 m ,        the plasma     current was only partially driven                ( at
         3.7 GHz ) ;
         Current ramp-up was 0.25 MA/ s with P,,-      ΚΡ
                                                           = 0.35 MW (at 1.3 GHz ).
The influence of the radial profile of plasma current on MHD activity
                                                                            19   -3
was also demonstrated ( sawteeth suppressed for n^ ^ 6.10                      m       with
0.25 MW at 3.7 GHz ). This is a promising result in view of the
application of current profile control in large devices such as JET and
TORE SUPRA . The operation of PETULA was discontinued in June 86 , when
the team moved to Cadarache . The transfer of PETULA to Nieuwegein
( Euratom-FOM Association ) is under consideration .
II . 2 . 2 . TFR ( Fontenay). Electron Cyclotron Resonance ( ECR) heating , a
joint programme of the Dutch and French Associations , started early in
1985 on TFR ; the full power of 0.6 MW was available in September 1985 .
                                                                                           19
Electron temperatures Te of up to 5 keV were obtained with ng = 1.5.10
m        At P__
              Hr
                   = 0.5 MW, one gets       „t. = 1 / 2 2M?h ( OH)* The exploitation of
TFR has been put to an end in June 1986 , after 13 years of successful
operation , as the team had to be transferred to TORE SUPRA at Cadarache .
II . 2 . 3 FT ( Frascati ). The experimental programme concerned the study of
q and n limits in ohmic discharges , as well as basic physics of LH
heating :
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        25 .
-        q and n limits ( 1984) s Several phenomena limiting the operation of
         tokamaks were investigated including , for the density limit ,
         sawteeth propagation , disruption precursors , hydrogen radiation and
         charge exchange losses ;
-        LH heating ( 1984-85 ) : LH heating (f ■ 2.45 GHz ) was studied using
         two different types of coupling structure . The best heating results
         were obtained on the electron regime (PRF = 0.45 MW corresponding
         to 6KW/cm2 power density at grill mouth ; A      > 0.5 keV and /^ Te >
         1 keV) with no degradation of the energy confinement time .
         For PRp = 0.2 MW, n - 4.1019 m-3, I = 0.35 MA and B - 6T, the
         sawtooth repetition time increased by a factor of about 3 , while
         the heat pulse propagating outwards from the q = 1 surface was
         observed to slow down , suggesting better transport conditions . LH
         heating of high density plasmas at 8 GHz (with a view to
         applications to FTU) is also planned .
II . 2 . 4 . THOR (Milano ). In the ECR heating experiment (P__
                                                              RE
                                                                 up to 0.2 MW ,
f = 28 GHz ), part of an ordinary wave injected from the low-field side
is absorbed in the first pass of the resonance region and the remainder
is reflected back in the extraordinary mode by a mirror . During the RF
pulse the density drops ( 60%) , the bulk electron temperature remains
constant but the energy content doubles due to the formation of non
thermal electron populations .
II . 2 . 5 . ASDEX (Garching) . Successful operation of a magnetic divertor in
conjunction with strong NBI heating had led to the favourable "H-mode "
of confinement . Now with the application of LH waves and ICR heating ,
three heating systems are available and can be compared on the same
machine with respect to heating efficiencies and synergetic effects :
         combination of ICR heating with NBI shows higher heating efficiency
         than that obtained with NBI or ICR heating alone at same power
         level ;
         the "H-mode", so far only attainable with NBI , was also obtained
         with a combination of NBI and ICR heating and even with ICR heating
         alone ;
         NBI at reduced particle energy showed that energy deposition at
         plasma boundary leads to same confinement times as central
         deposition ;
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         26 .
-        LH waves allowed to drive the whole plasma current without
         ohmic (OH) transformer and to demonstrate re-charging of the OH
         transformer ;
-        stabilization of sawtooth oscillations was achieved with LH waves
         in the low-density range of OH and NBI heated plasmas ;
         limitation of beta (MHD plasma stability limit ) is confirmed .
-        injection of frozen hydrogen pellets allows a substantial increase
         of density limits , leading to global energy confinement times ( E -
         0.16 s (exceptionally high for machines of ASDEX size ).
II . 2 . 6 . TORTUR (Nieuwegein) . Built to investigate turbulent heating ,
this experiment has shown energy deposition in a MHD unstable skin
current profile , and its subsequent relaxation . The device will be
upgraded for the investigation of fluctuation phenomena .
II . 2 . 7 TEXTOR (Jiilich). The programme deals mainly with plasma /wall
interaction .
         The pump limiter module ALT-I , a collaborative project with the US
         in the frame of the International Energy Agency ( IEA) became
         operational in early 1984 and proved to be an effective tool for
         influencing the plasma boundary layer ( capability for helium
         removal demonstrated ) . An axisymmetric toroidal pump limiter
         (ALT-II ) has been prepared (joint Japan-US-EURATOM venture ) and
         was ready to be installed by the end of 1986 .
         The in-situ carbonization technique was applied late in 1984 ; it
         strongly reduced the impurity concentrations initially found in the
         plasma (by a factor of 5 for oxygen and 25 for metals ) ; a
         discharge duration of about 4 s and an energy confinement time of
         0.1 s (ohmic regime ) were achieved . This technique , first developed
         in Jiilich , proved to be so successful that practically all tokamaks
         are now using it .
         An ICR heating system - built and operated by a team of the Belgian
         Association - is successfully applied on TEXTOR at the level of 2.3
         MW during more than 1 second . The modification of the RF system
         for the implementation of the limiter ALT-II is actively prepared
         together with the possible upgrading of the RF system to 4-4.5 MW .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         27 .
-        The design of two neutral beam injectors (based on JET concept) to
         be installed on TEXTOR , made in cooperation with laboratories
         having experience in this field , is now completed .
11 . 2 . 8 . DITE (Culham) . This device has demonstrated successful operation
of the bundle divertor and provided the experimental basis for the
assessment of this concept as an exhaust and impurity control system . It
has provided the first (and only European) evidence of plasma current
drive by neutral beam injection , and the codification of the tokamak
operating regime (Hugill diagram) . It also showed that the upper density
limit leading to disruptions is generally set off by radiative cooling .
11 . 2 . 9 . CLEO (Culham). This device has demonstrated the potential of ECR
heating for improving plasma confinement by controlling plasma
temperature profile . With a power of 200 KW at a frequency of 60 GHz ,
the electron temperature was increased by a factor of 8 to reach over
2 keV . The density limit was Increased by 70% .
11 . 2 . 10 . DANTE (Ris«0 . ECR heating in overdense plasmas (double mode
conversion ) and pellet ablation (pellets well suited for diagnostics )
have been investigated .
11.2.11 . TCA (Lausanne ). The      production of cleaner discharges led to a
higher delivered RE power (up        to 0.57 MW using the Alfven wave generator
recently commissioned) . The          importance of the excited spectrum in
determining the effects of          the RF power was shown . Effective core
heating was demonstrated . The      kinetic Alfven wave was observed to behave
as predicted by theory .
II . 3 . MEDIUM-SIZ E TOKAMAKS IN CONSTRUCT ION OR UNDER SUBMISSION
II . 3 . 1 . T0RE-SUPRA ( Cadarache ) . This superconducting device is planned
to make contributions both in physics and technology s              it will in
particular allow to study plasma /wall interaction as well as heating and
current-drive in long-pulse discharges . While the regroupment of staff
from Fontenay and Grenoble to the site of Cadarache has been completed
by the end of 1986 , the assembling of TORE-SUPRA has entered its active
phase .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          28 .
After successful tests , all the superconducting coils have been
delivered . The lower parts of the magnetic circuit are installed and the
assembly of the modules is starting . Active collaboration with several
U.S. teams was initiated on pellet injection , pump limiters and ergodic
divertors ; construction is under way . The operation of TORE SUPRA is
expected to start in December 1987 .
Prototypes for the various heating systems have been tested :
-        the ion source delivered ( 10 A , 60 kV) during 0.2 s . Extrapolation
         to nominal values ( 40 A , 100 kV , 30s ) raises no major problem ;
-        one prototype klystron ( 3.7 GHz , 0.5 MW , 0.03 s ) was coupled on
         PETULA to a multijunction grill module ( circulator not necessary ) ;
-        coupling structures for ICR heating ( two types of antennae ) are
         such that horizontal ports can be used for their installation .
11 . 3 . 2 . FTU ( Frascati ). This new load assembly will allow to investigate
plasma performances in high density and high temperature plasmas . The
construction started in September 1984 and all main orders have been
placed . The choice of the LH electron mode heating for FTU was agreed
and preliminary experiments on FT with a 8 GHz grill modul are starting
in 1986 : the aim of the experiment is both physical ( control of density
limit ) and technological (demonstration of high power density ) .
Operation of the FTU device is expected to start early in 1988 .
11 . 3 . 3 . ASDEX-UPGRADE ( Garching ). This device aims at the study of
plasma performance and plasma/wall interaction when using a
reactor-relevant poloidal divertor . The construction is well underway
and all components for the tokamak system are ordered . Operation is
expected to start during the 2nd half of 1988 . Additional heating
consisting of 6 MW hydrogen NBI and 6 MW ICR heating systems is in
preparation ( start of operation in early 1989 ) .
11 . 3 . 4 . COMPASS ( Culham) . This device aims mostly at high-beta and MHD
stability studies . The procurement of major components for this device
agreed in March 1984 is proceeding well . The toroidal field power supply
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         29 .
  was      delivered  and  successfully  tested . The   installation of  the 3
  gyrotrons of Stage 1 ( 0.6 MW ECRH) is well advanced in preparation for
  the experimental programme on DITE which precedes COMPASS operation
  ( expected to start during 1988) .
  II . 3 . 5 . TCV (Lausanne ). This tokamak , approved in 1986 , aims at
  producing plasmas with large elongations , which should lead to the
  possibility to reach higher plasma currents and , consequently , higher
  beta values . The commissioning of the device should take place at the
  end of 1989 .
  III . ALTERNATIVE LINES
           As already mentioned , one of the three main objectives of the
  Fusion Programme is to explore the reactor potential of some alternative
  lines , mainly Stellarators and Reversed Field Pinches . The experimental
  results of such devices in operation , as well as the status of the ones
^ in construction or planned , is presented in the following .
  III . 1 . STELLARATORS
  III . 1.1 . WENDELSTEIN VII A ( Garching) . This device was recently
                        r
  dismantled after 10 years of successful operation . ECR heating ( 28 GHz
  and later 70 GHz , 0.2 MW) showed (co-operation work with Stuttgart
  University) :
  -        plasma production and heating (Tgo up to 2.5 keV) ;
  -        neoclassical confinement for bulk électrons ;
  -        generation of radial electric fields when combined with NBI ;
  -        torsatron mode operation which proved that stable confinement
           regions can be increased by positive shear .
  III . 1.2 . WENDELSTEIN VII-AS (Garching). The construction by industry of
  all main components has been recently completed and the assembly of the
  modules is proceeding well . The prototype coil has been successfully
  tested and all the coils have been completed by the manufacturer .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    30 .
According to the present status W VII-AS should be ready for operation
in Summer 1987 . While 0.8 MW ( long pulse ) ECR heating will be available
from the start , the NBI ( 1.2 MW) and ICR heating (3 MW) systems will be
operational a few months later .
111 . 1.3 . WENDELSTEIN VII-X (under study at Garching) . The construction
of the device to follow W VII-AS is envisaged . It should allow to
conclude whether the advanced stellarator concept Is feasible for fusion
reactors (average beta values of 5% are expected from numerical
studies ) . In addition , a study of those reactor properties in which the
stellarator differs from the tokamak is under way ( collaboration with
Karlsruhe ) .
111 . 1.4 .    TJ-II   (under submission , Madrid ). In view  of the    full
participation of Spain in the European fusion programme ( from 1 January
1986 on), JEN-Madrid focussed on the construction of a flexible Heliac
confinement experiment (TJ-II) , which would be complementary to the
other stellarators in Europe . This project is presently under submission
within EURATOM .
III . 2 . REVERSED FIELD_PINCHES
III.2.1 . ETA-BETA II (Padova). Experiments on this device serve as
support studies for the next project RFX . Fluctuation studies were
conducted in order to understand plasma confinement and relaxation
phenomena resulting in the reversal of the toroidal field . A clean
(Z^^'Vl) high density (10^ m ^) plasma with A/'10%, T = 0.1 keV and
  E
      - 10~'+s was obtained .
III . 2 . 2 . HBT-X ( Culham). Experiments on this device show that plasma
equilibrium position control and reduced field errors give longer
confinement times . Electron temperature and confinement time increase
with current : in some cases the temperature increase is proportional to
the current at constant beta value (*'-’10% ).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       31 .
111 . 2 . 3 . RFX ( Padova ). This will be the largest RFP in the world (R =
2m , a = 0.5 m , plasma current up to 2 MA) . It will allow to study plasma
confinement and heating in conditions closer to the thermonuclear regime
than in present RFP devices . After the engineering design phase , the
construction of the buildings and of the main infrastructure has
started , and calls for tender for the main components of the device have
been launched . Culham contributes substantially to the effort . Operation
of the device is expected to start in 1989 .
111 . 3 . OTHER DEVICES
In addition to the two main alternative lines followed in Europe , there
exist a few other devices whose main purpose is to extend the data base
in basic plasma physics :
111.3.1 .      SPICA   (Nieuwegein) .  In this  screw-pinch , the  plasma  is
stabilized at high-|J values by force-free currents surrounding the
plasma and by a conducting shell . Experiments in SPICA I showed that
such high-j^ plasmas can be created and preliminary results from
SPICA II , whose construction was completed in 1984 , are promising (high
with elongated cross-sections ) .
111 . 3 . 2 . EXTRAP ( Stockholm). EXTRAP is a follow-up experiment of linear
and toroidal sector experiments having demonstrated a macroscopically
stable plasma state . This Z-pinch is stabilized by a superimposed
magnetic octupole field generated by external conductors . Experiments
have recently begun .
III^4_INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
The European Fusion Programme is devoting about 1 % of its efforts to
keep contact with research made elsewhere and to maintain a proper
capability to assess the progress made in this field . The two
laboratories involved are :
        Garching which develops a short pulse high-power gas laser (2 KJ) ;
        Frascati which develops a two-beam (2 X 70 J ) glass laser .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        32 .
IV . SUPPORT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WORK
In addition to the planning , construction and operation of the devices
mentioned in the previous sections , a substantial activity in JET and
in the associated laboratories is devoted to :
        support studies and developments for JET , as well as for NET ;
-       development of sub-systems necessary to extend the knowledge of
        plasma phenomena and improve plasma performance .
IV . 1 . SUPPORT TO JET (Art . 14 Contracts and Task Agreements )
        The two main contracts on NBI (with Fontenay and Culham) have been
        successfully completed and the first application of neutral beam
        heating on JET has led to a doubling of the central ion temperature
        to 6.5 keV .
-       During the period under review , a large number of diagnostics were
        developed in the Associations , installed on JET and operated with
        staff detached from the Associations :
        .     Single Point Thomson Scattering (by Ris ^)
        .     FIR Interferometer and VUV Spatial Scan (by Fontenay)
        .     Neutral particle analyser and X-ray spectrometer (by Frascati )
        .     Soft X-ray camera system (by Garching )
        .     Electron cyclotron emission fast system (by Nieuwegein )
        .     Neutron diagnostics (Harwell ) and Spectroscopy diagnostics
               ( Culham)
        .     2.4 MeV Time -of-Flight Neutron Spectrometer ( Studsvik)
        .     Plasma boundary probe (by JET , Culham and Garching )
        .     " Bolometer array" (by Garching ).
        Contracts have been placed on prototype development for pellet
        production (Grenoble ) , pellet acceleration by an arc heated gas gun
        (Ris ^) and the design of pellet injectors for JET ( Garching).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        33 .
-        The Associations have been also contracted by JET to fulfill
         various analytical and numerical studies on plasma equilibrium and
         transport , energy deposition by various heating schemes , and
         plasma /wall interaction .
         Many associated laboratories are directly participating to the
         operation of JET by secondment of staff under the Associated Staff
         scheme . In particular Culham laboratory , which is adjacent to JET ,
         is seconding a significant fraction of its professional staff to
         the project .
IV . 2 . OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ASSOCIATED LABORATORIES
IV.2.1 . NBI . Development is being pursued for the NBI systems to be
installed on some tokamaks under construction and on TEXTOR .
IV . 2 . 2 . Gyrotrons . Gyrotron studies and development are being pursued in
a few laboratories and in industry :
-        An industrial contract has been placed by the Commission for the
         development of a 100 GHz , 0.2 MW , 0.1 s gyrotron . Prototype tubes
         are under test .
         An experimental quasi optical gyroklystron at 120 GHz is in
         development in the Swiss Association with the collaboration of
         industry . All components are built and the system is presently
         in the assembly stage .
         Physics studies on very high frequency gyrotrons (Karlsruhe ) : all
         components have been built and experimental investigations have
         started .
         An industrial contract has been placed by Garching for a gyrotron
         at 70 GHz . Preliminary tests have been successful .
IV . 2 . 3 . Pellets . At Ris^, deuterium pellets ( 3.2 mm diameter) in an
arc-heated gas gun reached velocities of about 2 km/ s . A multipellet
injector - with variable pellet size - based on the centrifuge , was
developed at Garching .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         34 .
IV . 2 . 4 . Diagnostics . In addition to the various diagnostics developed
for JET , many diagnostics ( some of them novel ) were developed and
installed on the devices in the Associations :
         Ref lectrometry ( at Fontenay) for electron density measurements .
-        HCN-laser polari-interferometer ( at Jiilich ) to measure local
         current distribution .
-        Novel diagnostics for the plasma boundary region such as laser
         induced resonance fluorescence and lithium beams ( at Jiilich) .
IV . 2 . 5 . Ion beams . Development concerns :
         H bundels and ion acceleration (Amsterdam)        :  4 beamlets were
         produced ( current of 3 mA , at a particle energy of 120 keV) ;
         Negative ion beams ( Culham) : 30 mA/cm2 were obtained , with good
         prospects for extrapolation to a large area .
         Negative ion beams ( Stockholm in cooperation with Grenoble ) :
         experiments resulted in 150 mA currents of H ions accelerated to
         55 kV .
IV . 2.6 . Work for NET
The progress made in the NET design has enabled the NET Team to define
detailed tasks in the technology area to be carried out in the
Associated Institutions . Dp to now about 100 tasks have been assigned in
magnet , blanket , materials , tritium , remote handling and safety areas .
Results from these tasks have already been fedback into the design , so
establishing a close and very fruitful interaction between Laboratories
and NET Team . In addition NET has assigned about 90 study contracts to
the Associations both in physics and engineering areas . The Associations
are also seconding staff to the NET Team , within the frame of the NET
agreement .
IV . 3 THEORETICAL STUDIES
Analytical and numerical studies , and the development of computational
codes , were conducted in most laboratories :
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     35 .
       MHD equilibria and transport are investigated in most laboratories .
       In particular , this is the main activity of the research team at
       the Free University of Brussels ;
-      Macroscopic and microscopic instabilities , with particular emphasis
       on beta limits , are investigated mostly in laboratories having the
       computer facilities necessary to conduct large numerical
       calculations ;
-      Computer codes are developed in the main laboratories and at
       Lausanne on equilibrium , transport , ... ( 3-D code at Garching for
       investigations on the advanced stellarator concept ) ;
-      Studies on heating (wave propagation and energy deposition , ray
       tracing , ...) and on current-drive are mainly conducted in
       laboratories involved in such problems on experimental facilities .
V. TECHNOLOGY
The orderly Implementation of the fusion technology programme was one of
the major achievements during the last years . The main part of work is
oriented towards NET , but there is also a long-term application part
( low activation materials , safety and environmental Impact studies ).
The fields covered are magnets , tritium technology , blanket , materials ,
safety and environment ; and the work is being carried out in the
Associations ( in many Instances through attachment of groups from
fission laboratories ), in the JRC , and to a small extent in industry .
V.l . SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS
The development programme concentrated on the principal requirements of
NET : superconducting toroidal and poloidal field colls . The largest
project undertaken was the design and manufacture , with industry , of the
Euratom coil for the Large Coil Test Facility (LCTF) at Oak Ridge (ORNL)
in the USA . This 38 tonnes , NbTi , supercritical helium cooled , toroidal
field coil was tested in Karlsruhe 's own facility before being shipped
to take its place in the LCTF along with five others (one each from
Japan and Switzerland and three from the US) all to be tested according
to an IEA Agreement . The test programme at ORNL has started in April
1986 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   36 .
For its toroidal field NET may need superconductors having capabilities
up to and beyond 12 Tesla requiring development of advanced materials
such as NbSn^j and NbAl^ and for this purpose a consortium of three
associated laboratories have built the SULTAN high field test facility ,
which at present operates at 8 T ( full performance at 12 T in 1987 ).
The TORE-SUPRA tokamak provides very valuable experience in the
appreciation of the overall superconducting experimental tokamak concept
and will allow a NET specified , model poloidal field coil to be tested
'in situ' in a few years time . The development of such a coil is in
progress .
V.2 . TRITIUM_TECHNOLOGY
The effort is directed towards the development of the components of the
tritium system of NET ,    and towards   the  safety aspects   of tritium
handling .
One main object of study is the purification of the plasma exhaust of
NET . The DT exhaust which will be 'poisoned' by helium and by various
metallic and gaseous impurities , has to be restored to high purity . The
preferred method for this is permeation through Pd-Ag membranes which is
being studied in the loop PALLAS . Getters are being investigated as an
alternative and Ti-Zr has been found to be particularly effective .
The gaseous impurities separated still contain some tritium and hence
need further detritiation processes . Experimental studies of such
processes are now in progress (U-bed , other hot metal beds ). Similarly ,
techniques for atmospheric decontamination and decontamination of solid
tritiated wastes are investigated . To handle highly tritiated water , two
prototype electrolysers are being developed .         Finally , detailed
specifications were obtained , in cooperation with industry , for very
high capacity turbomolecular pumps ( tritium compatible ) and for large ,
fast shutting all-metal gate valves ( feasibility studies now being
carried out by industry) .
Many of the above experiments involve the use of tritium and hence
require special facilities . Such facilities are now made available for
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      37
the fusion programme in France (Bruyere-le-Chatel, Saclay) and others
are in construction (KfK and JRC Ispra) so as to extend the experimental
capabilities required by the programme .
V.3 . BLANKET
Engineering studies of the tritium breeding blanket showed two main
options :  one using a liquid lithium-lead eutectic as breeder and
self-coolant , the other solid ceramic compounds of lithium with helium
as coolant . The experimental work has thus been directed towards
establishing the necessary data base for such materials .
Concerning the lithium-lead eutectic , the data on hydrogen solubility
and diffusion were completed with new measurements . Compatibility and
liquid metal embrittlement tests showed no evidence of cracks or
imminent fracture of the container material . First experience on the
tritium recovery from the liquid metal was gained by using either
Ti-getters or inert gas bubbling .
For the ceramic lithium compounds , a major project is shared by six
European laboratories (partly integrated in an IEA Agreement ) .
Fabrication methods for obtaining very pure lithium aluminates and
ortho - and metasilicates have been established . First short irradiation
experiments of the vented capsule type producing tiny quantities of
tritium ( 300-350 Ci / specimen) , allowed a selection of "best behaved"
specimens . These will now undergo longer irradiations in both thermal
and fast fission facilities , the final objective being the proof of
tritium breeding capability .
V.4 . MATERIALS
As a result of the NET design studies , the scope of this field has now
been widened to include structural , first wall protection , insulating ,
optical , and divertor materials .
The structural material for NET will either be austenitic ( 316 ) or
martensitic ( 1.4914 ) steel ; for long-term applications , Mn-Cr austenitic
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    38 .
steels , vanadium alloys and elementally tailored low activation steels
are the alternative choices .
First important results have been obtained on the irradiation behaviour
of 316 austenitic steels , in an international exercise which started in
1981 and involves three fission reactors in Europe (HFR/Petten ;
BR-2 /Mol , R2 / Studsvik) and two in the United States (HFIR , ORR , both
Oak Ridge). Reference steel specimens from Europe , Japan , and US are
used .
Most of the planned post-irradiation tensile and fatigue tests are now
concluded (5 dpa and 10 dpa irradiation doses reached) . The in-pile
creep experiments are still in the reactors , accumulating dose , and the
( first of its kind) in-pile fatigue experiment (BR-2 ) was ready to go
into the reactor by the end of 1986 .
On most of the above mentioned structural alloys , a number of mechanical
tests have also been carried out , during or after Irradiation with
particle beams from accelerators , simulating fusion irradiation damage .
For example : torsional creep measurements of austenitic 316 L steel ;
low cycle fatigue and creep-fatigue Interaction studies ;      irradiation
creep studies showing identical creep for tensile and compressive
stresses , study of the rupture life of 316 steels , showing strong
decrease at around 1000 ppm helium concentration , and many others .
On first wall protection materials , after screening a large number of
proposed materials , those finally retained are fine grain graphites , a
certain class of SiC , and graphite /SiC composites .
Similarly the search for appropriate ceramic electrical insulators
indicate that alumina , spinel , and magnesia are the most promising .
Further , methods were developed to measure the dielectric loss tangent ,
during and after irradiation , of optical materials to be used in
different frequency ranges of RF-plasma heating .
V.5 . SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT
The work is focussed essentially on possible causes and consequences of
the release of gaseous tritium and on disposal of tritiated (solid)
wastes .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   39 .
Computer models of radioactive source terms and of the global dispersion
of tritium gas and of HTO were developed ( first validation test under
way) .
Failure modes were analysed and a risk assessment made for different
components of NET . The decontamination of trltlated metallic wastes was
studied and it was found that vacuum melting and outgassing would be
most efficient .
An assessment of the environmental impact of Fusion has been prepared
and   will  be  communicated  to Parliament  and  Council . This document
reviews also the economic prospects of Fusion .
VI . NET
The NET-Team started its work on the definition of NET in 1983 , with the
scope of defining the objectives , main design features , options and
planning of NET , and of identifying R and D , mainly in the area of
technology , needed for the design of NET .
This phase had been completed by the end of 1985 in sufficient detail to
proceed to the predesign phase ; the technology R & D programme has been
launched in most areas of interest to NET .
The objectives of NET are to produce a plasma with reactor relevant
parameters and performance , and to adress the main technical feasibility
issues of a fusion reactor . Thus NET should aim at controlled ignition
and extended burn , demonstrate the reliability and maintainability of
the system as well as its safe operation and low impact on the
environment . Finally , NET should have the capability to qualify design
concepts and to test materials and tritium and energy extraction systems
for DEMO (Demonstration Reactor ). For this purpose , a staged and
flexible operation scenario ( 13 years ) was developed . The concept and
parameters of the machine have been chosen accordingly after extensive
optimization studies .
The scaling of plasma performance underlying the choice of parameters is
in accordance with present experimental results on Tokamaks , however , in
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        40 .
consideration of a possible degradation of this scaling , considerable
margins have been taken in order to obtain ignition and long burn . The
overall size will be considerably larger than JET ; the plasma current
can reach up to 15 MA and the major radius will be 5 m as compared to 3
m in JET , also reflecting the fact that a blanket and shield are
foreseen between the plasma chamber and the superconducting toroidal
magnetic field coils . During a D-T burn pulse ( of about 500 s duration)
up to 600 MW of power will be generated by fusion reactions .
Design concepts for the main components of the basic machine have been
worked out to give guidance to the Associations on such component
development and to award feasibility studies to Industry . For the plasma
facing    components   whose   operating   conditions  are   very  severe   and
presently uncertain , several design concepts are being pursued and the
selection    of  reference   solutions  needs  further  work   and data   base .
Corresponding tasks for Associations and Industry have been defined and
launched .
VII . CONCLUSION
With JET , the major world experiment which was from the start intended
as a combined effort by all the Associations , with the medium-size
tokamaks     and   the   alternative    line   devices   in    the  associated
laboratories , Europe has reached in the last years an uncontested
leading position in the world . The European Fusion Programme is involved
in all schemes of collaboration presently under discussion between
fusion programmes in the world . It is well equipped to maintain its
leadership in the years to come if adequate financial support is
granted .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       41
                  B ) PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION
        adopting a research and training programme ( 1987 to 1 99 1 >
             in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy
Community , and in particular Article 7 thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission^ presented after
consultation of the Scientific and Technical Committee ,
                                                          (2)
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament       ,
                                                                      (3)
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee         ,
Whereas the energy problem is common to all the Member States ; whereas
joint efforts to resolve this problem are likely to produce better
results ; whereas thermonuclear fusion is one possible solution to the
energy problem in the longer term ; whereas the rational use of all the
different energy sources must be coordinated ; whereas the Community must
therefore continue to ensure optimum consistency in its efforts between
Community activities in the various sectors of energy and energy
research ;
                                           ( 4)
Whereas the Council has adopted on ....         the framework programme of
Community activities in the field of research and technological
development ( 1987 to 1991 ) which takes into account the foregoing
considerations ;
(1)  OJ No .
( 2) OJ No .
(3)  OJ No .
 (4) OJ No .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     42 .
Whereas thermonuclear fusion is a potential new source of energy using
fuel which is virtually inexhaustible and universally accessible ;
whereas magnetic fusion reactors will have inherent safety features and
hold the promise of a low Impact on the environment ; thermonuclear
fusion forms therefore an important objective within the framework
programme ;
Whereas , in its Decision 85/201 /Euratom^\ the Council adopted a
research and training programme ( 1985 to 1989 ) in the field of con¬
trolled thermonuclear fusion ; whereas Article 3 of that Decision pro¬
vides that the Commission will , based on a review to be carried out
during the second year of that programme , submit to the Council a
revision proposal aimed at replacing the 1985 to 1989 programme with a
new five-year programme in 1987 with 1987 , 1988 and 1989 constituting
years common to both programmes ; whereas Decision 85 / 201 /Euratom should
therefore be replaced ;
Whereas , as a result of Decision 85 /201 /Euratom being replaced , ap¬
proximately 171 MioECU of the sum estimated necessary for the preceding
programme , exclusive of JET (Joint European Torus ), and approximately
209 MioECU of the sum estimated necessary for the preceding programme
for the JET project will not have been used ; whereas these amounts can
be assigned to the new programme ; whereas such assignment , together with
the fact that the programme embraces all work carried out in the Member
States in this field , must be taken into account in determining the
amounts estimated necessary for the execution of the new programme ;
Whereas , in view of the extent of the effort needed to reach the stage
of applications of controlled thermonuclear fusion , which could be of
benefit to the Community , the work hitherto undertaken in this field
must continue on a joint basis at its various stages of development ;
(5)  OJ No . L 83 , 28.3.1985 , p. 25 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     43 .
Whereas the research proposed by the Commission constitutes an adequate
means of pursuing such action and it is , consequently , in the common
interest to adopt a multiannual programme in the field of controlled
thermonuclear fusion , the existence of which is , moreover , necessary to
enable the Community to participate in international cooperation in this
field ;
Whereas the strategy on which the continuation of the programme is based
should remain unchanged , namely :
-    pursuit of a substantial programme oriented towards a demonstration
      reactor and based at present on the Tokamak concept ; completion of
      the first stage of the programme formed by the JET project with its
      extensions and by the full exploitation of the devices existing or
     under construction in the Associations ,
-     continuation of the predesign of the second step of the Tokamak
     programme , the Next European Torus (NET) and pursuit of the
      technological developments necessary to its design and construction
     and of those needed in the longer term for the fusion reactor ,
-     investigation , depending on the resources available , of alternative
     confinement systems , concentrating on reversed field pinches and
      stellarators , subject to a periodic reassessment of their reactor
     potential compared with that of the Tokamak ;
Whereas this strategy should be reviewed at the next programme revision
aimed at replacing the present programme by a new five years programme
on the first of January 1990 ; at the time of this revision , it would be
appropriate to decide when to proceed to D-T operation on JET and when
to start the detailed design of NET ;
Whereas the research programme of the Joint Research Centre provides for
participation by the JRC in the field of NET and Technology ;
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    44 .
Whereas Sweden and Switzerland are associated with Community activities
in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion ;
Whereas the Community should continue to encourage the construction of
certain equipment related to projects having priority status , the
support for JET and NET by the Associations and certain developments in
the field of fusion technology , by granting a preferential rate of
participation in the expenditure on such projects ;
Whereas the direct involvement of industry in the implementation of the
programme , in particular with regard to NET and fusion technology , must
be strengthened ;
Whereas ,  furthermore , the  mobility  of  staff   between organizations
cooperating in the execution of the programme should be promoted ;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
                                Article 1
A European Atomic Energy Community programme of research and training in
the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion , as defined in the Annex ,
is hereby adopted for a five-year period commencing 1 January 1987 .
                                Article 2
The funds estimated as being necessary for the execution of the pro¬
gramme exclusive of JET amount to 533 MioECU , including expenditure on a
work force of 105 staff . The funds estimated as being necessary for JET
during the duration of the programme amount to 378 MioECU including
expenditure on a work force of 191 temporary employees within the
meaning of Article 2 ( a ) of the conditions of employment of other
servants of the European Communities .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    45 .
                                Artide 3
During the course of its third year , the Commission shall proceed to the
evaluation of the programme having regard to its objectives set out in
the Annex . Following this evaluation , the Commission shall submit to the
Council in 1989 a revision proposal designed to replace the present
programme with a five-year programme with effect from 1 January 1990 .
                                Article 4
Decision 85 /201 /Euratom is hereby repealed with effect from 1 January
1987 .
                                Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1987 .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States .
Done at Brussels ,
                                                    For the Council
                                                     The President
 ---pagebreak---                 CONTROLLED THERMONUCLEAR FUSION
The programme to be executed will cover :
( a) plasma physics in the sector concerned , in particular studies
     of a basic character relating to confinement with suitable
     devices and to methods for producing and heating plasma ;
(b ) research into the confinement , in closed configurations , of
     hydrogen , deuterium and tritium plasmas of widely varying
     density and temperature ;
(c)  research    into   light-matter    interactions       and    transport
     phenomena and the development of high-power lasers ;
(d ) the development and application to confinement devices of
     sufficiently powerful plasma heating methods ;
(e)  improvement of diagnostic methods ;
(f)  predesign and possibly commencement of the detailed
     engineering design of NET (Next European Torus ) and
     technological developments required for its design and
     construction as well as those needed in the longer term for
     the fusion reactor ;
(g)  Extension of the JET device to full performance ; operation and
     exploitation of JET .
The work referred to in ( a) , (b ) , (c ) , (d ) , ( e ) and (f ) will be
carried out by means of associations or limited duration contracts
which are designed to yield the results necessary for the im¬
plementation of the programme and which take into consideration the
work carried out by the Joint Research Centre , in particular in
relation to NET and technology referred to in ( f).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  47
    The implementation of the JET project referred to in ( g) has been
    entrusted to the ’Joint European Torus (JET), Joint Undertaking' ,
    established by Decision 78/471/Euratom^ .
2.  The programme set out in point 1 forms part of a long-term co¬
    operative project embracing all activities undertaken in the Member
    States in the field of controlled magnetic thermonuclear fusion . It
    is designed to lead in due course to the joint construction of
    prototypes with a view to their industrial production and marketing .
3.  The amount of 533 MioECU estimated as being necessary for the
    execution of the programme exclusive of JET is intended to finance :
    (a)  priority projects at a uniform rate of approximately 45% , as
         specified in paragraph 4 ;
    (b)  running expenditure of the associations at a uniform rate of
         approximately 25% ;
    (c ) certain industrial contracts in the fields of ’NET/ fusion
         technology' and the development of advanced plasma heating
         methods at a rate of 100% , as defined in paragraph 4 ;
    (d)  administration costs and expenditure intended to ensure the
         mobility of staff to enable them to work in organizations
         cooperating in the implementation of the programme and in the
         NET Team ;
    (e)  operational costs of the NET Team at a rate of approximately
         75% ;
(1) OJ No . L 151 , 7.6.1978 , p. 10 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  48 .
   Any positive balance from the contributions of associated third
   countries ( Sweden and Switzerland ) under the programme exclusive of
   JET , shall be devoted to the financial participation by the
   Community in the expenditure referred to in paragraph 3 .
4. After consulting the Consultative Committee of the Fusion Programme
   the Commission may finance at a uniform rate of about 45% as
   specified in paragraph 3 ( a ) projects belonging to one of the
   following areas :
   (a)   Tokamak systems and support for JET ;
   (b)   other toroidal machines ;
   (c)   heating and injection ;
   (d)   NET and fusion technology .
   If such projects belong to areas ( c ) and (d ) and if they are
   carried out by Industry the Commission may finance them at a rate
   of 100% as specified in paragraph 3 (c ).
   In return , all Associations shall have the right to take part in
   the experiments carried out with the equipment thus constructed .
5. The total contributions of the Members of the JET Joint Undertaking
   required to finance JET 's payments during the programme period 1987
   to 1991 are estimated at 531 MioECU . They are intended to cover the
   extension of the JET device to full performance and its operation
   and exploitation . According to the Statutes of JET , 80% of this
   amount , equal to 425 MioECU , are financed through the Community
   budget . Out of this amount , 19 MioECU have been committed by the
   Commission prior to 1987 . The remaining 406 MioECU will be financed
   as follows :
   .     378 MioECU from the Programme allocation for JET ;
   .     28 MioECU as the participation to JET of Sweden              and
         Switzerland paid via the Community budget .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  49
                       C ) FINANCIAL RECORD SHEET
                I. FUSION PROGRAMME ( exclusive of JET )
1.  RELEVANT BUDGET HEADING : 7310
2.  TITLE OF BUDGET HEADING : Thermonuclear fusion - General Programme
3.  LEGAL BASIS : Article 7 of the EAEC Treaty
                  Council Decision 85 /201 /Euratom^^
                  and régulation expected in 1987 .
4.  DESCRIPTION , OBJECTIVES , JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROGRAMME Inclusive
    of JET :
4.1 Description
    The programme is designed to continue research and development in
    the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion and covers all acti¬
    vities in the Member States in this field . Sweden and Switzerland
    are associated with the programme . It relates in particular to the
    study of magnetic confinement of plasma and of fusion technology .
(1) OJ No . L 83 of 25.3.1985 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    50 .
4.2 Objectives
    (a)  The short term objectives of the programme are :
         -     to establish the physics and technology basis necessary
               for the detailed design of NET (Next European Torus ) , the
               large device constituting the next step after JET ,
               to embark on the detailed design of NET before the end of
               the Programme period if the necessary data base exists at
               that time ,
         -     to explore the reactor potential of some alternative
               lines (mainly Stellarator , Reversed Field Pinch),
         -     to carry out a minimum programme on inertial confinement .
    (b ) The final aim of this programme is to determine whether energy
         can be produced at competitive prices from nuclear fusion
         reactions between light atomic nuclei and , if so , jointly to
         construct prototypes with a view to industrial-scale pro ¬
         duction and marketing .
4.3 Justification
    The problem of energy sources at world level in the long term is
    far from being solved . Thermonuclear fusion is one of the very few
    sources which might solve this problem or at least make a sub¬
    stantial contribution to its solution , in a way which would be
    particularly beneficial to Europe . A magnetic fusion reactor will
    use fuel which is virtually inexhaustible and universally
    accessible and it will have inherent safety features and hold the
    promise of a low impact on the environment . The main reasons for
    conducting research and development in this field on a Community
    basis are as follows :
    -    the scale of the human and financial resources required , which
         suggests that such a development could hardly be carried out
         on a national basis ;
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        51
      -    the long time-scale of the effort ( extending into the next
           century) needed to arrive at the construction of the reactor ;
      -    the existence of a collective need ,      common to all Member
           States ;
           the realisation of a European market for European industries
           in domains of high-technologies ;
      -    in the event of success , the opening-up of a wide Community
           market for the European reactor ;
           to provide a potential partner of comparable size to the 3
           other world fusion programmes , fostering thereby international
           collaboration in the field of fusion ;
           the quality of the European Fusion Programme whose leading
           position is acknowledged worldwide , and to which Sweden and
           Switzerland are fully associated .
      Fusion   is  therefore   in  line  with  the criteria   pertinent   to
      Community R&D Programme .
5.    OVERALL FINANCIAL    IMPLICATIONS OF THE GENERAL PROGRAMME FOR THE
      PERIOD 1987 TO 1991 .
5.1   Implications in respect of expenditure
5.1.1      Costs incurred by :
           - The budget of the Communities :         616,0 MioECU ( 1)
           - National administrations and
             other sectors at national level
             ( estimated ) :                        1117.0 MioECU
                                      Total cost :  1733.0 MioECU
5.1.2      Tranches and multiannual timetables
           In 1976 , the Council , acting on a proposal of the Commission ,
           adopted the principle of the " sliding programme " together with
( 1)  The 616,0 MioECU include 83 MioECU committed prior to 1987 within
      the programme 1985-89 for work to be executed after 1986 . The
      Community allocation for 1987-91 shown in the proposal for a
      Council Regulation is therefore 616 - 83 ™ 533 MioECU .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          52 .
    the  1976-1980     programme .   The  Council    fixes  in each programme
    decision the amount of commitment appropriations allocated to
    the programme as well as the amount of commitment appropria¬
    tions remaining from the preceding programme . The tranche
    opened      for each programme corresponds             to the allocated
    appropriations less the remaining appropriations . The aggre¬
    gated tranches opened for a given period constitute the total
    funds available to the Commission for the implementation of
    the  programmes      during    that  period .   Taking   into   account   the
    proposed allocation to the General Programme 1987-1991 these
    funds total 1181,0 MioECU for the period 1976-1991 ; they have been
    calculated as follows :
                                                               Tranche
         Programme 1976-80 :                                   124,0 MioECU
         Programme 1979-83 : 190.5 - 44.0
         ( appropriations remaining from programme
         1976-80 ):                                            146,5 MioECU
         Programme 1982-86 : 301,0 - 67,0 (appropria¬
         tions remaining from programme 1979-83 ):             234,0 MioECU
         Programme 1985-89 : 360,0 ^^ - 45,5 (appro¬
         priations remaining from programme 1982-
         86 ) :                                                314,5 MioECU
                 Total of tranches opened for 1976-89 :        819,0 MioECU
         Proposed programme 1987-91 : 533,0 - 171,0
         ( expected appropriations remaining from
           programme 1985-89 ) :                               362,0 MioECU
                                             Total :          1181,0 MioECU
         The timetables below relate to the period 1976 to 1991 ,
         covering the previous programmes , the current programme
          1985-89 and the proposed programme 1987-91 :
(1) See Communication of the Commission to the Council on the fusion
    programme , doc . C0M(85 ) 789 final .
 ---pagebreak---                      Table  : General Programme , commitments,' MioECl/, without contributions of third countries (Sweden and Switzerland)
                                      . 1976-85   .    1986       1986        1987        1988        1989      1990        1991      Total     Total
                       >
                                        Outturn                  Carry            E s t 1 m a t e d   Out turn
                                                    Outturn
                                                                forward ^
                                                                                                                                     1976-91
                                                                                                                                               irø"91
   Programmes 1976 /86                   449.0          8.0        2.0          -           -          -         -            -
                                                                                                                                       459.0          -
   Current programme 1985 /89             90.8         94.1        4.1       100.3        60.7       10.0        -            -        360.0      171.0
   Proposed programme 1987/91               -            -          -           -         56.0      100.0     113.0         93.0       362.0     362.0
   Total                                 539.8       102.1         6.1       100.3       116.7      110.0     113.0         93.0      1181.0     533.0
                                     Payments , MioECO , without contributions of third countries ( Sweden and Switzerland)
                   .
                                     .. 1976-85   .    1986       1986        1987        1988        1989 .    1990   .  1991 and   . Total     Total
                                        Outturn     Outturn      Carry            E s t 1 m a t e d   Out turn               later    1976-91   1987-91
                                                                                                                             years            and later
                                                                forward ^                                                                      years ( 2)
   Programmes 1976 /86                   389.2        33.2         1.6        14.4        20.6         -         -            -        459.0       35.0
   Current programme 1985 /89             10.1        75.6         0.7        78.8        66.0       81.7      21.4         25.7       360.0     273.6
   Proposed programme 1987 /91             .-            -          -           -         10.2       40.0     115.0       196.8        362.0     362.0
   Total                                 399.3       108.8         2.3        93.2        96.8      121.7     136.4       222.5       1181.0     670.6
                                                                                                                                                          Ln
                                                                                                                                                          ίο
Notes : ( 1 ) The appropriations carried forward from 1986 are part of the 1985-89 Programme .
        (2) The figures In this column do not Include any amounts carried forward from 1986 for expenditure in 1987 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                           54 .
5.2   Method of calculation
      ( a) Staff costs
      The number of staff is proposed as follows :
              Years           A           B         C     .    Total
              1987-91   .     73          29        3            105
      The calculations of staff costs are based on the actual expenditure
      in 1987 increased by 4% per annum for the years 1989-91 . The
      appropriations for staff entered in the budget do not take into
      account   that JET reimburses     to the Commission the cost for staff
      assigned from the General Programme to JET .
      The Community expenditure related to staff costs are included in
      headings (b ) and ( c ) below .
      (b)  Administrative      and    technical   operating     expenditure    and
           management
           This covers the costs for travel , missions , experts , and the
           organization of meetings together with the use of adminis¬
           trative and technical support . Inclusive of the funding for
           the Evaluation Programme , as far as it concerns fusion^^, and
           of the cost of Commission staff working in the Fusion Directo¬
           rate in Brussels , this expenditure is estimated at 14__MioECU
           to be financed at 100% by the Community budget . It represents
           1.4% of the Community allocation and 0.6% of the overall cost
           of Fusion R&D in the Community , inclusive of JET .
^^ The cost of the evaluation Panel mentioned in Section VI of the
    Exnlanatorv
    Explanatory Memorandum
                  Memorandum is
                              is Dresentlv
                                  presently estimated
                                             estimated at   about r half a MioECU
                                                       at about
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          55 .
    (c)  Contract expenditure
         i)   Association Contracts . For the period 1987-91 the cost of
              carrying out the fusion programme in the laboratories
              associated with the Community is estimated at 1611
              MioECU , including the support of these laboratories to
              JET and NET ,     their activity     in    the   field of    fusion
              technology   and    the   Commission   staff     seconded   to  the
              associated laboratories . The Community would participate
              in the financing of this expenditure at following rates :
              -     General Support to running costs and basic work in
                    Technology : about 25% ;
              -     Preferential Support to priority actions in Physics
                                                       I
                    and Technology as well as to work for JET and NET :
                    about 45% ,
              -     Administrative     and   technical      operation    of   the
                    NET-team : about 75% .
              The   Community commitments      expenditure      related   to  the
              participation     in   the   financing     of   the   Associations
              expenditure is estimated at 429 MioECU^
         ii ) Industrial contracts . An increased number of industrial
              development contracts are foreseen in the frame of NET
              and Fusion Technology and the development of advanced
              plasma heating methods . In 1990 and 1991 when the NET
              Project will proceed to the detailed engineering design ,
              prototypes of components of the NET device will have to
              be ordered from Industry . The Community would finance
              such contracts at 100% and about 74 =MioECU are provided
              for this purpose .
         iii) Costs   involved    in the mobility of staff other than
              Commission staff are estimated        6 MioECU to be
(1) To 429 MioECU must be added 83 MioECU committed prior to 1987 for
    the period 1987 to 1989 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      56 .
               financed at 100% by the Community budget . A provision of
                   8_MioECU is    required to finance Commission staff
               assigned to Associations at a rate of about 42% .
         iv)   A provision of    JL^ioECU is made for Fellowships .
5.3 Unused commitment appropriations remaining from programme 1985-89
         Programme allocation for 1985-89               360,0 MioECU
         Less : appropriations committed in
         1985 and 1986 , appropriations
         carried forward from 1986 :                     189.0 MioECU
         Unused appropriations available for
         1987-89 :                                       17 lj=0_MioECU
5.4 Implications in respect of revenue
         Community taxes on the salaries of Commission staff
         Contribution of this staff to pension scheme .
6.  FINANCING OF THE PROGRAMME
    -    Appropriations    entered   in   the  budgets  of    the   European
         Communities for the years 1976 to 1987 .
    -    Appropriations to be entered in future budgets ( 1988 to 1991
         and later ) .
 ---pagebreak--- TYPE OF CONTROL TO BE APPLIED
Scientific control :     - Steering committees set up by asso¬
                           ciation contracts concluded with the
                           national laboratories .
                         - Consultative Committee for the Fusion
                           Programme set up by Council Decision of
                           16.12.1980 .
Administrative and
Financial Control :      - Steering Committees .
                         - DG of Financial Control with regard to
                           the execution of the budget and the
                           regularity and conformity of the ex¬
                           penditure and the Contracts Division
                           assisted by audit companies entrusted by
                           the Commission (DG XII ) .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         58 .
                               II ) JET PROJECT
1.  RELEVANT BUDGET CODE : 7311 .
2.  TITLE OF BUDGET HEADING : Participation in the JET Joint Under¬
    taking .
3.  LEGAL BASIS : Articles 45 to 51 of the EAEC Treaty and
                  Article 9 of the JET Statutes ,
                  Council Decisions 78 / 470 / Euratom of 30.5.1978
                  ( 0J L 151 of 7 June 1978 , page 8 ), 30 / 318 Euratom of
                  13.3.1980 , 81 / 380 / Euratom of 19.5.1981 ,
                  85 / 350 /Euratom , 85 / 201 /Euratom and Council Régulation
                  expected in 1987 .
4.  DESCRIPTION , OBJECTIVES AND JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROJECT :
4.1 Description
    Construction , operation and exploitation , as part of the Community
    fusion programme and for the benefit of the participants therein ,
    of a large torus facility of the Tokamak type and its auxiliary
    facilities ( Joint European Torus - JET ) in order to extend the
    parameter range applicable to controlled thermonuclear fusion
    experiments up to conditions close to those needed in a thermo¬
    nuclear reactor .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        59 .
4.2   Objectives
      To    obtain   and  study  a  plasma   in  conditions   and   dimensions
      approaching those needed in a thermonuclear reactor . Four main
      areas of work are required to achieve this aim :
      ( i)   the scaling of plasma behaviour as parameters approach the
             reactor range ;
      ( ii ) the plasma-wall interaction in these conditions ;
      ( iii) the study of plasma heating ;
      ( iv) the study of alpha-particle production and confinement and
             consequent plasma heating .
 4.3 Justification
The execution of the JET Project is an essential stage in the develop¬
ment of the Community’s fusion programme . With regard to the final aim
of this programme and its justification , refer to Part I , Section 4.3 of
this financial record sheet .
5.    OVERALL FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF JET FOR THE PERIOD 1987-1991
5.1   Implications for the 1987-91 Framework Programme
For the programme period 1987-91 , the following funding is required for
JET :
      1987-91 Programme Allocation                    378,2 MioECU
      Funds remaining available from
      1985-89 Fusion Programme                        209,2 MioECU
      Fresh Allocation required for 1987-91            169,0 MioECU
These     figures   do   not  include    the participation   of   Sweden    and
Switzerland .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    60 .
5.2  Method of Calculation
At its meeting in March 1987 , the JET Council approved a Project
Development Plan and Project Cost Estimates covering the remaining
proposed life of the Project to 1992 . The associated financing of JET
for the period 1987 to 1991 was estimated at :
           Commitments                         490,6 MioECU
           Payments                            542,5 MioECU
           Members Contributions               531,3 MioECU
These estimates allow for inflation at a continuing rate of 4% a year
from the average JET inflation indices for 1986 . 80% of the estimated
Members Contributions ( 425,0 MioECU) have to be financed through the
Community . Since 19,2 MioECU has been committed prior to 1987 for the
period 1987-91 , the estimated commitments for the period are , therefore ,
405,8 MioECU .
This 405,8 MioECU will be financed on the following manner : 27,6 MioECU
as the expected Swedish and Swiss participations in JET paid via the
Community budget , leaving 378,2 MioECU to be financed directly by the
Community as its 1987-91 Programme Allocation . The method of calculation
for the Swedish and Swiss participations is described in Part III of
this financial record sheet .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   61 .
The calculation is set out in the accompanying table and summarized
below :
1987-91 Programme Allocation                       378,2 MioECU
Participation of Sweden and Switzerland              27,6 MioECU
Amounts committed prior to 1987 for
     the period 1987-91                              19,2 MioECU
80% of JET 's Members Contribution
     for the period 1987-91                        425,0 MioECU
Contributions from the Host Organisation ( 10% )   106,3 MioECU
     and from Members of JET having
     Contracts of Association with EURAT0M(10% )   _
Members Contributions to JET for the
period 1987-91                                     531,3 MioECU
5.3  Implications in respect of revenue
Community taxes on the salaries of temporary staff .
6.   PROJECT FINANCED FROM :
Appropriations entered in the budgets of the European Communities for
1976 to 1987 .
Appropriations to be entered in future budgets ( 1988 to 1991 ).
7.   TYPE OF CONTROL TO BE APPLIED
(A)  Scientific Control : JET Council
                          Consultative Committee for Fusion Programme .
(B)  Administrative and
     Financial Control :  JET Council
                          Court of Auditors .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     62
Notes to Table
(1)  All figures in this upper section of the table correspond to the
     Project Development Plan and Cost Estimates approved by the JET
     Council in March 1987 .
( 2) Members Contributions for the period 1987-91 have been calculated
     from the estimated payments profile by subtracting estimates of
     miscellaneous income , principally bank interest .
(3)  The JET allocation in the 1985-89 Fusion Programme , including the
     Swedish   and  Swiss  participations ,   totalled  330.0  MioECU .  The
     Swedish   and  Swiss  participations   have  been  estimated  at   23,9
     MioECU , leaving 306,1 MioECU as the direct participation of the
     Community .
(4)  The appropriations carried forward from 1986 relate to the 1985-89
     programme . Those payments appropriations carried forward by JET
     have already been financed by Members Contributions in 1986 .
( 5) To the end of 1986 , Members contributions to JET totalled 633,8
     MioECU of which 80% , or 507,1 MioECU , has been financed through the
     Community . Since 526,3 MioECU had been committed by that date , the
     sum already committed in respect of the period after 1986 was ,
     therefore , 19,2 MioECU .
(6)  Of total Members Contributions of 531,3 MioECU for the period
     1987-91 , 80% or 425,0 MioECU is to be financed through the
     Community . Since 19,2 MioECU has been committed prior to 1987 for
     this period , the estimate commitments for the period are 405,8
     MioECU .
(7)  The figures in this column do not include any amounts carried
     forward from 1986 for expenditure in 1987 .
 ---pagebreak---          Table : Financial Profiles of both the JET Joint Undertaking and of the Community Participation in JET
MioECU assuming continuing      1976-85      1986       1986(4 )     1987  1988   1989   1990    1991  Total    Total
Inflation Rate of 4% a year     Outturn     Outturn    Carry Forward       Estimated Expenditure       1976-91 1987-91
                                                                                                                  (7)
JET FINANCES ( 1 )
    Commitments                 600,5       100,2           30,4      88,7 125,1  106,8   89,9    80,1  1221,7   490,6
    Payments                    542,3        95,3           12,3     104,4 108,5  118,1  115,4    96,1  1192,4   542,5
    Members Contributions ( 2 ) 548,5 ^      85 , 3 W                 99,8 106,4  116,6  113,9    94,6  1165,1   531,3 ( 6)
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
    Commitments ( excl . CH+S )
    . Programmes 1976-1986      393,3                                                                    393,3
    . Programme 1985-1989        23,8        73,0             -
                                                                      75,1   78,7   55,4    -       -
                                                                                                         306,1   209,2
    . Programme 1987-1991           -          -              -         -     -
                                                                                    12,9  85,3    70,8   169,0   169,0
     Total ( excluding CH+S )   417,1        73,0             -
                                                                      75,1   78,7   68,3  85,3    70,8   868,4   378,2
     Sweden and Switzerland      31,1         5,0             -
                                                                       5,4    5,7    5,8   5,8     4,9    63,7     27,6
     Total ( including CH+S )   448 ,3 ( 5)  78,0 (5 )        -
                                                                      80,5   84,4   74,1  91,1    75,7   932,1   405,8 ( 6)
    Payments ( excluding CH+S ]
    . Programmes 1976-1986      393,3          -              -         -       -     -     -       -
                                                                                                         393,3        -
    . Programme 1985-1989        14,3        63,2            2,8      75,1   78,7   72,0    -       -
                                                                                                         306,1   225,8
    . Programme 1987-1991          -           -              -         -      -
                                                                                    12,9  85,3    70,8   169,0   169,0
Total ( excluding CH+S )        407,6        63,2            2,8      75,1   78,7   84,9  85,3    70,8   868,4   394,8
Sweden and Switzerland           31,1         5,0             -
                                                                       5,4    5,7    5,8   5,8     4,9    63,7     27,6
Total ( including CH+S )        438,7        68,2            2,8      80,5   84,4   90,7  91,1    75,7   932,1   422,4
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   64 .
III . Contributions of Third States associated with the Fusion Programme
1.    General programme
1.1   Period 1976-1986
Contributions received are estimated at                      42 MioECU
less : Community expenditure incurred for the execution
    of the cooperation agreements , estimated at :           25 MioECU
Positive balance available for the General Programme ,
    estimated at :                                           17 MioECU
The amount of 17 MioECU has been used to maintain the general support to
Community Associations at the level of 25% .
1.2   Period 1987-1991
The financial participation of Sweden and Switzerland to the General
Programme will be calculated , as previously , on the basis of Community
payments to the General Programme and in proportion to their Gross
Domestic    Products relative  to   the  Gross  Domestic Product  of   the
Community .
As the association contracts presently negotiated with Sweden and
Switzerland will terminate on 31.12.1989 , is it not possible to estimate
the expenditure in these countries up to end 1991 . It is foreseen that
both countries will have a strong participation in the growing fusion
technology programme . The positive balance is therefore expected to
diminish or even to disappear . If there is any positive balance , the
Commission proposes to use it for the financing of expenditure in the
Community Associations .
With the accession of Spain to the European Community on 1.1.1986 its
contributions to the Fusion programme as an associate Third State has
ceased as from this date .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     65 .
2.   JET
2.1  Period 1976-86
The participation in JET of Sweden and Switzerland for this period is
estimated at 36,1 MioECU .
2.2  Period 1987-91
Under the assumptions that :
     the payment appropriations shown in the multiannual timetable ( see
     par . I , 5.1.2 ) for 1987-91 will be entered in the budgets for these
     years ;
     the combined Gross Domestic Products of Sweden and Switzerland will
     on average equal 7 per cent of that of the Community ;
     Sweden and Switzerland will remain fully associated with the Fusion
     Programme during the period 1987-91 ;
the  contributions     of  Sweden  and  Switzerland  can  be  estimated  at
27,6 MioECU .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      66 .
         D)   OPINION OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
   on the Research and Training Programme ( 1987-91 ) in the field of
                     Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion
At its meeting on 12 May 1986 , the STC examined the draft guidelines for
the Framework Programme of Community R&D activities ( 1987-91 ). In
particular , the Committee studied the proposals relating to controlled
thermonuclear fusion and , in that connection , requested a small working
party to formulate an opinion of a general nature , pending the more
detailed discussions scheduled for 4 July 1986 , when the STC was to
examine :
     the draft proposal for a five-year ( 1987-91 ) research programme in
     the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion (Doc . XII / 475 ) ;
     and
-    the draft proposal for an amendment to the Statutes of the JET
     Joint   Undertaking   aimed  at  extending   the      duration of    that
     Undertaking until 31 December 1992 ( Doc . XII / 498 ) .
The opinions delivered by the STC on 4 July concerning these two drafts
are set out below .
Controlled thermonuclear fusion may turn out in the long term to be a
valuable source of energy supply for the Community . Nevertheless ,
despite the important advances already achieved , it will be at least 30
years before the demonstration reactor stage is reached . A costly effort
of such long duration is acceptable only to the extent that fusion
research in the Community remains totally integrated within a properly
coordinated programme . It may be hoped that , by implementing such a
programme with great regard for economy and without pointless
duplication of effort , it will be possible to develop fusion up to the
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     67 .
pre-industrial stage at an expenditure which , despite the much longer
duration of research work , would not exceed the financial outlay
required in the case of fission energy .
Physics - including the associated technology - is still the most
important aspect of fusion research . In this field , JET is the most
efficient    installation ,  the   success   of    which  has   contributed
                                                (*)
considerably   towards making    the  Community       the undisputed world
leader . Construction of the machine was completed on schedule and within
the financial estimate , and the initial phase of operation , with ohmic
heating alone , provided results that were better than expected .
However , in the subsequent phase , which began in 1985 , although the
utilization of additional types of heating most certainly made it
possible to increase the temperature of the plasma , it was not possible
to avoid the reduction in confinement time that had already been
observed in the case of other machines . In order to remedy this and to
impart to the plasma characteristics which justify operation with
tritium , a number of additional items of equipment are proposed ,
together with the postponement of the end of JET operation from 31 May
1990 to 31 December 1992 , the annual expenditure to remain constant at
1986 level . The STC stresses the urgency of the decision on extending
the duration of the Joint Undertaking , on which the proper execution of
the JET programme will henceforth depend .
The STC delivered a favourable opinion on the proposals made in respect
of the JET as regards both extending the duration of the Joint
Undertaking and maintaining the level of its budget . Admittedly , it is
not absolutely certain that the various additional items of equipment
proposed will be effective ; nonetheless , the STC considers that any
delay in placing them in service could seriously affect the programme as
a whole and might result in a substantial increase in expenditure in
view of the high cost of basic JET operation .
 (*)
     Sweden and Switzerland joined the Community Programme in 1976 and
      1978 respectively .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    68 .
The 12-year duration initially fixed for the JET Joint Undertaking
resulted in a very tight schedule . The proposed extension of two years
and seven months once again imposes a severe constraint , but the STC
considers it important to emphasize the good example that is shown by
placing a strict time limitation on the Joint Undertaking in comparison
with all the other major      international installations    for basic or
applied research .
The physics programmes conducted by the Associations are indispensable
as a back-up for JET in the case of certain studies which cannot be
carried out at JET and as regards the exploration of configurations
other than TOKOMAK . The construction of several medium-sized machines is
nearing completion . Some of them have absolutely unique features . The
STC considers that the level of financing proposed under this heading is
very reasonable and in keeping with the programmes that have already
been started . It should be noted that    this  is the field in which the
temptation to decentralize and duplicate work is greatest , and it is
important to resist that temptation .    In particular , the operation of
medium-sized devices must be subject to planning as rigorous as that of
JET .
It was only in 1982 that a methodical programme on fusion technology was
set up within the Community framework .       Its purpose is    to acquire
knowledge in fields other than physics which is necessary in order to
assess the feasibility of various fusion reactor concepts . That
programme was started up with relatively limited resources on the basis
of the skills and the testing facilities developed for the utilization
of fission energy . The most urgent task at present is to acquire the
technical knowledge necessary for the NET project , which is defined as
the only intermediate stage between JET and the demonstration reactor .
It is hoped that , when the 1987-91 programme is reviewed in 1990 , enough
physical and technical data will be available to enable the decision to
be taken to start on the detailed design of NET and the associated
development of prototype components . The STC considers that this is not
the moment to prejudice such a decision , which , at the appropriate time ,
will be the subject of a proposal from the Commission to the Council .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    69 .
The STC therefore proposes that a total of 91 + 166 MloECU be adopted
for the headings NET and Technology , which does not prejudice the
decision to begin the detail design of NET in 1990 and provides
financing for the NET team throughout the programme ( see the lefthand
column of Table 1 in Annex I) . This corresponds to an overall fusion
budget of 1,059 MioECU , to which the STC is favourable and which is in
accordance with the proposal made by the Commission in respect of the
1987-91 programme .
To this can be added the activities of the JRC relating to fusion . The
STC regrets that , on procedural grounds , the details of these activities
must be the subject of a separate discussion and a separate opinion of
the STC . The Committee insists that the JRC activities in the field of
fusion should be judged by the same criteria as the corresponding
activities under the shared-cost programme .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   70 .
 OPINION OF THE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE FOR THE FUSION PROGRAMME ( CCFP )
       on the draft Proposal for a five-year Programme 1987-1991
                   on Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion
                 adopted at its meeting on 19 June 1986
Having discussed the draft Programme Proposal at three consecutive
sessions , the CCFP endorses the scientific and technical contents of the
Proposal which it considers fully consistent with the long term
objectives and the modalities of implementation of the Fusion Programme
as previously defined by the Council of Ministers .
The Programme has three main components : JET , the physics and plasma
engineering work in the Associations and NET/Technology . The CCFP
supports the recommendation to extend the duration of the JET Joint
Undertaking until 31 December 1992 in order to exploit the successful
progress of the project .
On the basis of the detailed cost analysis made by the Commission and
its associated partners , the CCFP considers that the proposed financial
envelope is commensurate with the scientific and technical contents of
the Proposed Programme .
The CCFP supports the basic assumption underlying the Programme
Proposal , whose main objective is to establish the physics and
technology basis for the Next Step . The latter implies that at the next
Programme Revision a proposal could possibly be made to embark on the
detailed engineering design of NET . For such a major decision the CCFP
recommends the Commission to seek , at the appropriate time , the advice
of an independent panel .
In line with the Opinion expressed in December 1985 , the CCFP
acknowledges the demonstrated success of the fully integrated European
Fusion Programme which makes Europe an outstanding partner in any scheme
for extended international collaboration in the field of Fusion , and
expresses again its fear that the aims of the Fusion Programme could not
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   71 .
be fulfilled if its funding level were to be appreciably reduced
compared with the Proposal .     The Programme would then have to be
completely re-appraised .
Noting that Fusion already has a large 'high-technology' content and has
generated 'spin-offs' which benefit other branches of science and of
European industry , the CCFP supports the Proposal made by the Commission
to enhance the involvement of industry . This involvement will have to
grow substantially when NET enters the phase of engineering design .
The mobility of scientific personnel among the various fusion
laboratories has reached a significant level and is of particular value
to the countries which do not have their own fusion programmes . The CCFP
therefore supports the Mobility Scheme as well as the Fellowship
Programme which form part of the Proposal .
 ---pagebreak---       COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Proposal for a Council decision approving amendments to the
Statutes of the Joint European Torus ( JET ) , Joint Undertaking
        (presented by the Commission^
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        73 .
                      A) EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. The Council established the JET Joint Undertaking for a duration of
   12 years from 1 June 1978 to 31 May 1990 . The aims of the Under ¬
   taking were described in the Statutes as follows :
   "To construct , operate , and exploit a large machine , a Torus
   facility of Tokamak type , in order to extend the parameter range
   applicable to controlled thermonuclear fusion experiments up to
   conditions close to those needed in a thermonuclear reactor ."
2. The success of JET is essential for the design and construction of
   the next step machine NET ( the Next European Torus ), and hence for
   the European Fusion Programme as a whole .
3. JET has a fourfold set of scientific objectives , which were set out
   in the report EUR-JET-R5, "The JET Project - Design Proposal",
   1976 , and to which there is explicit reference in the JET Statutes ,
   1978 . These objectives remain unchanged :
   ( a)  To study the way that confinement and plasma properties scale
         as dimensions and parameters approach those necessary for a
         reactor ;
   (b )  To examine and control the plasma-wall interaction and im¬
         purity influx in these conditions ;
   (c)   To demonstrate effective heating techniques capable of pro¬
         ducing high temperatures ;
   (d) To study the production and confinement of alpha particles and
         the subsequent plasma heating .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          74
4. In order to attain these objectives the Project is proceeding on
   successive phases :
         Phase 0 : The Construction of the Machine
         The machine was constructed on schedule in five years , from
         1978 to 1983 .
   -     Phase 1 : The Ohmic Heating Phase
         The main aims of this phase , now completed , were to commission
         the machine and its principal systems and to create a clean
         hydrogen plasma suitable for the additional heating studies of
         later phases .
   -     Phase 2 : Additional Heating and Full Power Optimisation
         Studies
         During this phase , which began as foreseen in 1985 , pro¬
         gressively higher amounts of additional heating are being
         installed on the machine . The main aims of the phase will be
         to reach the maximum performance of the machine and attain the
         plasma parameters necessary to proceed to the final phase of
         the programme .
   -     Phase 3 : The Tritium Phase
         If Phase 2 is successful , the Tritium Phase could begin . This
         phase ,  requiring up to two years for completion , will be
         devoted to the study of alpha particle production in deuterium
         and tritium plasmas . The ultimate objective is to reach a
         significant level of alpha-particle heating .
5. JET 's Progress to Date
   The machine was constructed very much to cost and to time . The
   ohmic heating phase , which began with the first plasma in June
   1983 , was completed successfully and on schedule in the second half
   of 1984 . All the systems commissioned have worked according to
   specification and the physics results have more than fulfilled
   expectations . In fact , a controlled plasma current of 5 million
   amperes (MA) has been reached , compared with the design value of
   4.8 MA . With ohmic heating alone , JET has achieved plasma
   temperatures of nearly 40 million degrees Centigrade and a time of
   confinement of about 0.9 seconds .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        75
   In 1985 , the additional heating programme began with the successful
   application of radio frequency heating , followed in 1986 by the
   introduction of neutral beam heating . By November 1986 , a total
   power of 18 MW was being coupled to the plasma , using both addi¬
   tional heating methods and peak ion temperatures of 145 million
   degrees centigrade were being obtained .    With additional heating in
   the usual material limiter configuration ,      confinement times are
   significantly degraded compared with those in ohmic heating .
   Preliminary experiments with a magnetic limiter configuration
   (X-points ) towards the end of 1986 , however , gave encouraging
   results and pointed towards one way in which this " confinement
   degradation" might be overcome (H-mode ) .
6. Future Plans
   As it is Intended to raise the total heating power to between 40
   and 45 MW , it becomes of crucial importance to succeed in finding
   means to avoid the phenomenon of "confinement degradation" that
   have until now been observed when additional heating is applied .
   Theoretical studies have for some time suggested , and this is now
   being supported by experiments at JET and elsewhere , that means can
   be developed to overcome confinement degradation . Indeed , a set of
   new experimental measures is now emerging , which should enable JET
   to obtain the full benefit of the performance capability of the
   machine . These developments cover the following four topics :
   ( i) Increasing the central plasma density by pellet injection ;
   (ii) Plasma exhaust and the control of edge density ;
   ( iii) Better control of the plasma /wall interaction by modifying the
          magnetic configuration (X-points );
   ( iv) Control of the current profile in the plasma .
   The aim of these measures is to produce a stable plasma configu¬
   ration with higher densities and temperatures at a sufficient
   confinement time . They will require additional equipment , whose
   capital cost has been estimated at not more than 70 MioECU in 1986
   values . The net increase in the capital cost , taking account of a
   reduction of about 25 MioECU in the cost of the Extension to Full
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     76
Performance Phase , is about 45 MioECU , which represents an increase
of less than 10% in the overall capital cost of the Project . These
developments could be undertaken without increasing JET 's present
rate of expenditure of between 100 and 105 MioECU a year at 1986
values .
This additional equipment needs to be operational before JET can
proceed to the final phase of its programme , the Tritium Phase . Its
design , manufacture and installation require time and would ,
therefore , delay the start of the Tritium Phase with respect to the
original timetable . To minimise the extension of the JET programme
and to maintain its momentum , the implementation of these measures
should not be delayed . An early start to these developments is
sensible only in the context of a prolongation of the Joint Under¬
taking to allow a full exploitation of this additional equipment .
It is for this reason that the JET Council , at its meeting in
October 1985 , concluded that the operation of JET should be allowed
to continue up to the end of 1992 , so that NET and the Fusion
Programme as a whole can take full advantage of the potential of
JET . The Commission informed the Council of Ministers of this in
its Communication on the Fusion Programme (Document ( 85 ) 789 Final
23 December 1985 ) in December 1985 . The JET Council , by unanimous
agreement at its meeting in March 1986 , took the necessary formal
steps to prolong the Joint Undertaking by 2 years and seven months
from 31 May 1990 to 31 December 1992 and to modify Article 19 of
the JET Statutes accordingly . The Commission proposes that the
Council of Ministers , in accordance with Article 50 of the Euratom
Treaty , approves this modification to the JET Statutes .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               77
                                   B ) PROPOSAI,
                                       for a
                                COUNCIL DECISION
approving amendments to the Statutes of the Joint European Torus (JET) ,
Joint Undertaking .
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy
Community , and in particular Article 50 thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Whereas , for the purposes of implementing the JET project , the Council ,
by Decision 78/471 /Euraton/^ , established the Joint European Torus
(JET),     Joint Undertaking ,    and adopted the Statutes thereof ,       later
                                          ( 2)    .                  (3)
amended by Decisions 79 / 720 /Euratomv        and 83 / 310 /Euratom v   ;
Whereas , to achieve the aims of the JET Project as defined in Decision
78 / 471 /Euratom additional equipment is necessary , the manufacture ,
operation and exploitation of which cannot be achieved within the
duration of the Joint Undertaking as presently defined in the JET
Statutes ;
Whereas the JET Council has approved a prolongation of the Joint Under¬
taking to 31 December 1992 and the corresponding amendment to the JET
Statutes ,
(1)    OJ Nr . L 151 , 7.6.1978 , p. 10 .
( 2)   OJ Nr . L 213 , 21.8.1979 , p. 9 .
(3)    OJ Nr . L 164 , 23.6.1983 , p. 35 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         78
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
                                Article 1
The amendments to the Statutes of the 'Joint European Torus ( JET), Joint
Undertaking' , annexed to this Decision , are hereby approved .
                                Article 2
This  Decision   shall   enter  into  force   on   the  day  following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Done at
                                                For the Council
                                                 The President
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     79
                                                          >
                                ANNEX
Article 19.1 of the Statutes of the Joint European Torus (JET ), Joint
Undertaking shall be replaced by the following :
     " 19.1 .  The Joint Undertaking shall be established until 31
               December 1992 ."
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          80
                        C ) FINANCIAL RECORD SHEET
The total cost of JET and the financial contributions to JET from the
Community Budget over the entire proposed duration of the Joint Under¬
taking are set out in the financial record sheet attached to the
Proposal for a Council Regulation adopting a research and training pro¬
gramme 1987 to 1991 in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion .
This sheet is limited to the extra costs that stem from the proposed
introduction of additional equipment and the prolongation of the Joint
Undertaking . The extra costs are calculated in 1986 values as follows :
. Capital costs of the additional
   equipment :                                       70 MioECU
. Prolongation of JET operation by
   2 years 7 months :                               190 MioECU
. Less : Reduction in the costs of the
   Extension to Full Performance Phase             - 25 MioECU
. Net Extra Costs :                                 235 MioECU
The bulk of the capital costs on additional equipment will fall in the
years   1987   to 1990 together with the     the  remaining  costs of  the
Extension to Full Performance and the expenses of operating JET . Expen¬
diture to prolong JET operation will fall in the years 1990 to 1992 . In
conformity with Article 9 of the JET Statutes , 80% of the extra costs
( 188 MioECU) would have to be financed via the Community Budget (Article
7311 ). The budgetary annual distribution is shown in the financial
record sheet of the proposal for the 1987 to 1991 Fusion Programme .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                 81
            COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
    "Environmental Impact and Economic Prospects of Fusion".
    Statement prepared by the Services of the Commission and
endorsed by the Consultative Committee for the Fusion Programme
(presented by the Commission^
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       82
     Environmental Impact and Economic Prospects of Nuclear Fusion
Following a request from both Parliament and Council , the Commission has
asked a group of European experts to establish a technical report on the
"Environmental Impact and Economic Prospects of Nuclear Fusion".
The Commission is pleased to forward this technical report , together
with a less technical summary on the state of the art in this matter
that has been endorsed by the Consultative Committee for the Fusion
Programme .
The Commission is conscious that the results of this work and the views
expressed represent the present stage of knowledge in an evolving field .
Indeed ,   as the   development   of   nuclear   fusion  moves   from  the
demonstration of the scientific principles to the demonstration of the
technological   feasability ,  research   on   safety , environmental  and
economic aspects of fusion will grow in the future . This will permit to
refine in due course the views expressed at this stage .
The Commission is also aware that decisions of major importance will
have to be taken in a few years time in the field of fusion , such as :
launching the engineering design of NET and initiating the tritium
operation of JET . Before presenting such proposals , possibly in the
frame of the next programme revision , the Commission will undertake an
in depth evaluation of the fusion programme , including the environmental
and economic aspects .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    83 .
         ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS OF FUSION
        Statement prepared by the Services of the Commission
and endorsed by the Consultative Committee for the Fusion Programme
  INTRODUCTION
  The aim of European fusion research and development is to produce a
  design of a power plant that satisfies a number of social
  acceptance criteria such as :
  -     it relies on fuels which are abundant and accessible to the
        European Community ,
  -     it is chemically clean , in that it produces no carbon dioxide
        or toxic substances ,
        its radiological burden on the environment is small compared
        to the natural background ,
  -     its credible accident potential excludes calamities which
        would cause a major disruption to normal         life   in  the
        community , outside the reactor site boundary ,
        it is technically reliable ,
  -     it is economically acceptable .
  Fusion energy has the potential to become one of the major new
  sources of energy . It would not automatically fulfil all the above
  criteria , but it is possible to find design options for magnetic
  confinement fusion which will meet each one of them . A consistent
  design satisfying all these criteria is still far off , but great
  progress has been achieved and a persistent effort is being made to
  integrate all desirable environmental , safety and economic features
  into a coherent design .
  The European Fusion Programme , which concentrates on magnetic
  confinement systems , envisages three distinct steps to be taken
  before commercial fusion power stations can be built : the
  demonstration of scientific feasibility , of technological feasibi¬
  lity , and eventually of economic feasibility . Presently , with JET ,
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      84
   the medium-size Tokamaks , and their foreign equivalents , we are
   still primarily in the scientific stage . The Next European Torus
   (NET), now in the pre-design phase , is conceived at present as a
   device which should fully confirm the scientific feasibility of
   fusion in a first phase , and confront the problem of technological
   feasibility in a second phase . If NET is successful , a demonstra¬
   tion reactor (DEMO ) will have to be built before commercial fusion
   power can be implemented , which is therefore not expected to happen
   before well into the next century .
   Therefore , any statement to-day on the environmental impact of
   ( commercial ) fusion has to be based on the principles of magnetic
   fusion and conceptual designs rather than on the technical details
   of proposed reactor designs . A fortiori it is likewise too early to
   be very specific about the cost of fusion power in the next century .
   On the request of the Commission , European experts have elaborated
   during 1986 a technical report on the environmental impact and the
   economic prospects of fusion (Ref . 1 ). From this report and other
   sources which represent our best present knowledge of the subject ,
   qualitative arguments have been derived and are presented in the
   following sections .
   Further detailed assessments may be found in the list of selected
   technical references which will bring the interested reader up to
   date with recent specialized studies .
2. A CONCEPTUAL FUSION REACTOR
   A number of conceptual fusion reactor designs have been made over
   the last decade . They are based on the present knowledge of the
   physics of high temperature plasmas together with the technology
   currently available and on developments that can reasonably be
   expected in the near future .
   In a    fusion reactor ,  energy will be    generated by converting
   deuterium and tritium into helium . Unlike deuterium , tritium is not
   replenished from the outside but is generated in the reactor itself
   from lithium in the blanket . It is , therefore , the lithium which
   has to be replenished :     the primary fuels of deuterium-tritium
   fusion are deuterium and lithium .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        85 .
   Most of the fusion power generated will appear as fast neutrons ,
   which will be slowed down in a surrounding blanket made of a
   compound of lithium causing the blanket to heat up to temperatures
   suitable for raising steam . The neutrons not only provide the heat
   source for generating electricity in the conventional way , but also
   convert some of the lithium into tritium .   The neutrons also cause
   the reactor internal structure to become radioactive .  The level of
   radioactivity and the decay rate (half-life ) will depend on the
   structural materials chosen ; both could in principle be made low .
3. THE ABUNDANCE OF FUSION FUELS
   The amount of primary fuel consumed to generate one million
   kilowatt-hours of electricity in a fusion plant is about 35 grams
   of lithium converted into tritium and 10 grams of deuterium , as
   compared to , for example 240 tonnes of oil or 360 tonnes of hard
   coal in a fossil-fired plant . In return for mastering the much more
   complex process of nuclear fusion the direct consumption of fuel
   becomes indeed negligible .
   Both lithium and deuterium are abundant      in surface waters , and
   lithium is also present in large quantities in land-based minerals ;
   although no precise data exist Community-wide , assessments of
   land-based lithium in some countries of the Community indicate that
   domestic supplies will be plentiful and will not in any way limit
   the use of fusion energy in Europe .
4. THE ABSENCE OF CHEMICAL POLLUTANTS
   The reaction product of deuterium-tritium fusion is helium , a
   chemically inactive noble gas . Among the known or envisaged
   processes for the fusion fuel cycle there is none involving
   chemically toxic or polluting emissions . In particular neither
   carbon dioxide nor oxides of nitrogen or sulphur are generated .
5. LOW RADIOACTIVE HAZARD
   The only radioactive substance inherent to the fuel cycle of
   currently envisaged fusion reactors is tritium . The primary fuels
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  86
deuterium and lithium are non-radioactive , and the product of the
fusion reaction is non-radioactive helium .
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen . It has a radioactive
half-life of 12.3 years and decays by emitting beta-radiation
( electrons ). Tritium is present in very small quantities at all
times from natural sources in the upper atmosphere .         Gaseous
tritium oxidises in air and in the soil to form tritiated water
(HTO) and in this form it is more readily absorbed by human tissue .
However , tritiated water does not concentrate in the body but is
excreted with a biological half-life of about ten days . Fortunately ,
tritiated water in the environment disperses and dilutes in the
ecosystem much faster than fission products and actinides . For
example , the half life of the loss of tritiated water from the
upper layers of the soil is measured in days , whereas fission
products and actinides can contaminate land and buildings for very
long periods .    There is no evidence or known mechanism for the
concentration of tritium in the food chain .
In normal operation the tritium in a fusion power station is
confined to an internal circuit which includes fuel feed , exhaust ,
and purification as well as on-site tritium recovery from the
breeding blanket . Operating experience gained from Canadian CANDU
fission reactors with comparable tritium concentrations in the
coolant    indicates  that with existing technology losses    to the
atmosphere can be kept far below the level of natural radio¬
activity .    The rapid decay of tritium excludes any long-term
cumulative build-up of tritium radioactivity .
Radioactivity is induced in the structure of the reactor by the
neutrons arising from fusion reactions , but the amount and nature
of this radioactivity depends on the kind of structural material
chosen . The neutron induced radioactivity is largely immobilized
Thus , it is possible that successful development of new low-
activation materials will allow for a substantial reduction in the
structural radioactivity as compared with , for example , commercial
steels .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        87
   in the reactor structure . The small fraction which by corrosion
   processes will be introduced in the primary coolant is confined to
   an internal closed cycle .
   Radioactive wastes     of different  categories   ( low level , medium
   level , high level) will be generated . Wastes with the highest
   activity come mainly as a necessary consequence of replacing
   worn-out parts of the reactors . This waste will consist of parts of
   the activated structure and hence a large benefit could be drawn
   from the use of low-activation materials which might even be
   recycled . There will be also some tritiated waste which , according
   to recent studies (Ref . 3 ), can be disposed of without appreciable
   effect on the environment . There is no alpha-waste associated with
   fusion such as the long-lived actinides produced in fission .
   Estimates have been made of the amount of radioactive materials ,
   both tritium and activated structure , which would be mobilised and
   released   to the  environment  in conceivable  accidental situations
   involving also a break in the containment . Even if all the tritium
   released would be in the form of tritiated water , it appears to be
   within the reach of fusion development to limit the impact outside
   the reactor site boundary to such a level that no evacuation
   measures will be required . This implies that even in the worst
   conceivable accident no major disruption of normal life in residen¬
   tial areas around the power plant would occur .
6. POTENTIAL PASSIVE SAFETY
   Magnetic fusion has important implicit safety features which , if
   properly exploited in a design could result in extensive , if not
   total , passive safety of the reactor . The most important of these
   safety features is that , whatever fails or goes wrong with the
   fusion reactor , it cannot in any circumstance lead to a nuclear
   runaway . Moreover , the amount of fuel in the reactor is at any time
   only sufficient for a few tens of seconds of operation and the
   interruption of the flow of fuel , or a variation of the magnetic
   confinement system because of a failure of the plant , will lead to
   the rapid extinction of the fusion reaction .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    88
   Very important features which contribute to the passive safety of
   the reactor are :
        the relatively low afterheat ( less than 2% of the operating
        power , depending on the structural material of the reactor )
        so that , even in the unlikely situation of a total failure
        of all cooling systems , melting of the structure would not
        occur for several hours or may even be avoided altogether by
        appropriate design ;
   -    the immobility of most of the radioactive inventories , which
        are confined to non-volatile structural materials ;
   -    the low biological hazard potential (radiotoxicity) of the
        radioisotopes present , which for steel is about 100 times less
        than for fission products and actinides , with the prospects of
        being further reduced by appropriate choice of the structural
        material ;
   -    the on-site reprocessing of the tritium fuel which eliminates
        the risks associated with the transport of tritium ( except , of
        course , for the tritium inventory required to start a new
        reactor for the first time ).
7. THE ECONOMIC PROSPECTS FOR FUSION
   The development of commercial fusion power is a long-term objective .
   The exact timing and the extent of commercial exploitation would
   depend on its cost as a source of power . At this stage any attempt
   to estimate accurately the cost of fusion generated power , perhaps
   two generations ahead , must inevitably be qualitative . The future
   costs of other methods of power generation are also subject to
   uncertainties . Hence , it is impossible to say with confidence
   whether fusion will be economically competitive as a source of
   power in the first half of the next century .
   Studies have , of course , been made on the economic prospects for
   fusion (Ref . 1 , for instance ). They suggest cost levels for
   electricity generation in the same range as those for existing
   energy technologies . Such cost levels seem feasible and attainable
   provided that the long-term efforts to improve and simplify the
   fusion technologies are successful .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               89
     In addition , important 'spin-offs’ may be expected to accompany
     continued fusion development , such as have already arisen and which
     can be demonstrated today in parallel branches of high technology .
     Furthermore , the prospects for fusion and the economic comparisons
   . with other power generation methods need to be considered in a
     wider context when the costs associated with safety , the question
     of self-sufficiency and the environmental impact are also included .
     Fusion has many environmental and safety advantages , and such
     advantages could turn out to be important factors in favour of the
     introduction of fusion as a major new source of energy for the
     world .
8.   REFERENCES
     1.   The Environmental Impact and Economic Prospects of Nuclear
          Fusion                                         (EUR FU BRU/XII 828 /86 )
     Other References
     2.   Environmental Aspects of Fusion Reactors
          CASINI , 6 . , PONTI , C. , ROCCO , P.            (EUR- 10728-EN, 1986 )
     3.   The Implications for Health            and   the  Environment of the
          Disposal of Tritiated Wastes                      (EUR 10617 EN , 1986 )
     4.   Fusion Reactors - Safety and Environmental Impact
          HANCOX , R. , REDPATH , W.          (Nucl . Energy 24 ( 1985 ), p. 263 )
     5.   Preliminary Findings of a U.S. National Committee on
          Environmental , Safety and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion
          Energy
          HOLDREN , J.P.
           (Paper presented at the IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on
          Fusion Reactor Safety , Culham, 3-7 November 1986 ).
     6.   Fusion Safety Status Report              ( IAEA - Tec . Doc . 388 , 1986 )
 ---pagebreak---                                                              90 .
                  COMPETITIVENESS AND EMPLOYMENT IMPACT STATEMENT
I. Subject matter
   - The programme proposed is designed to continue research and develop¬
      ment in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion and covers all
      activities in the Member States in this field .  The final aim of this
      programme is to determine whether energy can be produced at
      competitive prices from nuclear fusion reactions between light atomic
      nuclei and , if so , jointly to construct prototypes with a view to
      industrial-scale production and marketing .
   - The main reasons for conducting research and development in this
      field on a Community basis are among others :
      . the scale of the human and financial resources required , which
        suggest that such a development could hardly be carried out on a
        national basis ;
    . . the long time-scale of the effort ( extending well into the next
        century) needed to arrive at the construction of the reactor ;
      . the realisation of a European market for European industries in
        domains of high-technologies and , in the event of success , the
        opening up of a wide Community market for the European reactor .
   - If the programme proposal were not introduced , there would result
      Irreversible damages , the most severe one concerning JET . Indeed , in
      parallel with this programme proposal , a proposal for the
      prolongation of the JET project until the end of 1992 is being
      submitted . Such a prolongation is coherent with the Installation and
      the exploitation of supplementary equipment on JET in order to ensure
      the further success of this device . A lack of decision on the fusion
      programme would put into question the date of implementation of such
      equipment and accordingly would made not viable the date proposed for
      the end of the project : such termination should then be delayed
      until after 1992 and would cause considerable overcosts .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       91 .
 II . Features of business in question
      - The proposal has Implications for European industry in the domains
        of high-technologies , with spin-offs ( in particular in the fields of
        superconducting magnet technology , robotics , and high-power micro-
        wave systems ) to the benefit of other branches of science and of
        industry .
      - The proposal has also implications for SME 's . The role of industry
        is expected to grow when the European Next Step   (NET) will enter the
        phase of engineering design . JET experience ,     in particular , has
        shown that new SME 's , working mostly in the      fusion field , were
        created or have considerably developed in order   to satisfy the needs
        of the fusion laboratories .
III . Implications of programme on business
      - For the implementation of the programme , JET and the institutions
        associated to the Community fusion programme launch European calls
        for tender for equipment and services , particularly in the domains
        of high technologies . Technically competent SME 's are invited to
        participate to each call for tender , when appropriate .
IV . Obligations likely to be imposed on business : NONE
V.    Special provisions in respect of SME 's
      There are no such provisions .      The present proposal is likely to
      stimulate SME 's , as was indicated before .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     92 .
VI . Effects to be expected
     - The expected effects are , as indicated before , a stimulation in
       domains of high technologies of the competitiveness of European
       industry as compared to other industry in the world .
     - The proposal has no deleterious effect on the job situation in the
       Community : on the contrary , it helps in increasing the know-how
       necessary to develop this new potential energy source . In the long
       term , the opening-up of a wide European market for the European
       reactor would have a positive effect on employment .
VII . Consultation of relevant representative organisations
       Member States are consulted through the Consultative Committee for
       the Fusion Programme , whose opinion ( 1986 proposal) and "views "
       ( revised 1987 proposal ) are favourable , and through the Scientific
       and Technical Committee , whose opinion was also positive . The
       European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee will also
       be asked to give their opinion .
 ---pagebreak---                                                EURFU BRU/XI 1-828/86
  r       i.
I  \Jrmmh
   ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
                   and
     ECONOMIC PROSPECTS
                     of
              NUCLEAR FUSION
                   ANNEXE
                   Commission of the European Communities
BRUSSELS,
NOVEMBER 1986
                 € Directorate General XII - Fusion Programme
                   Brussels
 ---pagebreak---                      CONTENTS
                                          Page
Explanation                            ( i)-(ii)
Executive Summary                          1
Environmental Impact of Nuclear Fusion     15
Economic Prospects of Nuclear Fusion -     52
A 1986 Viewpoint
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       (i)
Explanation :
1)   By a Resolution adopted on 17 January 1985 , the Council embodied
     the Opinion of the European Parliament on a Proposal (C0M(84 ) 271
     final) from the Commission of the European Communities to the
     Council :
            "For a Council Decision adopting a research and training
            programme ( 1985-1989 ) in the field of thermonuclear Fusion"
     The European Parliament , in its aforesaid Opinion :
     (Art . 4 )  Calls again on the Commission to launch , in the next few
                 years , a public discussion on nuclear fusion and on the
                 indispensability and impact thereof ;
     (Art . 5 )  Instructs its fthe E.P 's ) Committee on Energy , Research
                 and Technology , as the committee responsible , to hold a
                 wide-ranging hearing , at the time of the next programme
                 review , on the prospects for and hazards of controlled
                 nuclear fusion ;
2)   In response to the requests of the E.P. mentioned above and in view
     of the impending programme revision in 1987 the Consultative
     Committee for the Fusion Programme advised the Commission :
     " to start , without delay , the necessary actions to prepare on a
     strictly European basis , a response to the European Parliament
     concerning questions raised on the Environmental , Safety and
     Economic Aspects of Fusion" (Extract from Minutes of CCFP 23 of 30
     Sept . 1985 ).
     Subsequently the Commission asked two groups of experts to carry
     out , during 1986 , a study on the present state of knowledge
     concerning the subjects in question .
     One group studied the Environmental aspects the other the Economic
     prospects .
3)   The work of the two Expert Groups was supervised by a Working Group
     composed of leading fusion scientists coming from the European
     fusion laboratories , from JET , from NET and from the Joint Research
     Centre .
 ---pagebreak--- The members of a Working Group were as follows :
               Messrs : BRAAMS     ( FOM , Rijhuizen)
                        BRUNELLI   ( ENEA , Frascati )
                        CASINI     ( JRC , Ispra )
                        GIBSON     ( JET )
                        GRIEGER    ( IPP , Garching )
                        HENNIES    (KfK , Karlsruhe )
                        PEASE      ( UKAEA , Culham)
                        PREVOT     ( CEA , Cadarache )
                        TOSCHI     ( NET , Garching )
The Group met four times during the year in order to advise the
experts on the issues raised in their reports .
The final outcome is the Report which follows and which consists of
three parts , an Executive Summary prepared by the Services of the
Commission and two Technical sections prepared by the Expert Groups
concerned .
 ---pagebreak---    ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS OF FUSION :
                    AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CONTENTS
1.   Introduction                                    2
2.   The Route Towards a Fusion Reactor              3
3.   A Conceptual Fusion Reactor                     4
4.   Environmental Impact During Normal Operation    7
5.   Environmental Impact due to Accidents           9
6.   Safety Aspects                                  9
7.   The Economie Prospects                          11
8.   Conclusions                                     13
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   2.
       ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS OF FUSION :
                       AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
The aim of European fusion research and development is to produce a
design   of  a  power  plant  that  satisfies  a  number  of   social
acceptance criteria such as :
     it is economically acceptable
     it is technically reliable
-    it is chemically clean , in that it produces no carbon
     dioxide or toxic emissions
-    its radiological burden to the environment , either from the
     plant or from waste products , in normal conditions is small
     compared to the natural background
     its credible accident potential excludes calamities disrupting
     normal life in the community outside the reactor site boundary
     it relies on fuels and construction materials that are
     abundant and accessible to all countries of Europe .
Fusion energy , when available , will not automatically fulfil all
the above criteria . It is , in fact , possible to conceive of
applications that violate one or more of these . However , this
report will show that design options for magnetic confinement
fusion are being put forward to meet each one of them . This is not
to say that a consistent design along these lines is in hand .
Although great progress has been achieved that brings us close to
fusion conditions , it remains a formidable challenge to the science
and technology of our time to integrate all desirable
environmental , safety and economic features into a coherent design .
All this applies to the deuterium-tritium fusion system . There is a
long-term prospective that this may eventually be superseded by
so-called advanced fuels , but the case is made that deuterLum-
tritium fusion is a worthy goal to pursue on its own merits .
Clearly , our acceptance criteria must be further refined and
quantified before they reach the level of precision that will
ultimately be required when decisions to enter the commercial stage
of fusion power are to be made . In this context , a report such as
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      3.
   this can serve a multiple purpose . First , to remind workers in the
   field of the stringent standards society is likely to apply to the
   outcome of their work and to focus their attention on all questions
   raised in this context .
   Secondly , to reassure both the responsible authorities and the
   general public that the efforts devoted to the subject are striving
   for the highest standards , and that encouraging progress is being
   made towards providing society with a supply capable of filling a
   sizeable , Indeed the major , portion of its long-term energy needs
   in the best possible way . Finally , the report is likely to provoke
   reactions that contribute to a better understanding of the promise
   held by fusion and of the constraints to be imposed on this
   emerging technology if and when it comes to widespread application .
   This report summarises , with a minimum of technical detail , two
   technical reports by teams of specialists drawn from several
   European research institues : " Environmental Impact of Nuclear
   Fusion" and "The Economic Prospects of Nuclear Fusion : A 1986
   Viewpoint".
2. THE ROUTE TOWARDS A EUROPEAN FUSION REACTOR
   The European fusion programme , which concentrates on magnetic
   confinement systems , envisages three distinct steps to be taken
   before commercial fusion power stations can be built .
   The first is to establish the scientific feasibility of the process
   and this is the main thrust of the present programme with the JET
   Joint Undertaking at Culham , UK , as the principal experimental
   apparatus and with complementary studies in the national
   laboratories . The next step , NET (Next European Torus), will be to
   establish the technological and engineering feasibility . The NET
   design team has already been established at Garching , Federal
   Republic of Germany , and is currently in the pre-design phase of
   the Project . The construction of NET will depend on the main
   experimental results of JET (Joint European Torus) and other fusion
   experiments . After the successful operation of NET , a demonstration
   reactor - DEMO - will be required to establish the design features
   that will determine the economic feasibility of a fusion reactor .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      4.
   The timescale for such a programme is long but if all stages
   proceed to plan a commercial fusion power station could be in
   operation in the first half of the next century , a time when ,
   according to current predictions , new sources of pollution-free
   energy will be required to supplement nuclear fission and other
   energy sources . In addition , the dwindling supplies of the fossil
   fuels , coal , gas and oil will be needed increasingly for other
   industrial purposes .
   JET , one of the world 's leading fusion experiments of the tokamak
   class , aims at achieving conditions approaching those required in a
   reactor . To do this , the fuel , which is a mixture of deuterium and
   tritium ( the heavy isotopes of hydrogen ) gas , must be heated to
   temperatures in excess of 100 million degrees Celsius and held in
   isolation from container walls by magnetic fields . These fields
   provide the necessary thermal Insulation to prevent excessive
   cooling of the hot ionised gas known as plasma . The plasma in JET
   is contained in a large ring-shaped vacuum vessel called a torus .
   If the plasma physics revealed in the JET experiments is favourable
   then the power which would be released from fusion reactions
   occurring in the JET plasma could be several tens of megawatts for
   a few seconds . NET , an experimental test reactor producing a
   thermal fusion power of about 600 MW , is being designed to
   demonstrate sustained reactions , (which themselves should continue
   to keep the plasma hot ), and to provide the necessary technological
   data for designing a demonstration reactor (DEMO ) with a net
   electrical output of several hundred megawatts .
3. A CONCEPTUAL FUSION REACTOR
   A number of conceptual fusion reactor designs have been made over
   the last decade . They are based on the present knowledge of the
   physics of high temperature plasmas together with the technology
   currently available or of developments that can reasonably be
   expected in the near future . Based on plausible extrapolations to
   the reactor level , a reactor of net electric power of 1200 MW has
   been defined for the purpose of the attached technical reports and
   been used in the environmental and economic comparisons .
   The simplest view of a fusion reactor is a unit into which the
   basic fuels - deuterium and lithium - are fed and the output is
 ---pagebreak---                                                                         5.
    electricity with helium as the principal waste product .
    Lithium is required to produce tritium (a radioactive form of
    hydrogen) which will be subsequently "burnt " with deuterium to
    produce power from fusion reactions . Deuterium from water and the
    light metal lithium from the earth 's crust are both plentiful and
    geographically well distributed . Less than one tonne of these fuels
    would be consumed in a 1200 MW fusion power station per year . Most
    of the fusion power generated will appear as high speed particles
    called neutrons , which will be slowed down in a surrounding blanket
    made of a compound of lithium causing the blanket to heat up to
    temperatures suitable for raising steam .       The neutrons not only
    provide   the    heat  source   for   generating   electricity   in  the
    conventional way ,    but  also   convert  some  of   the  lithium  into
    tritium . The neutrons also cause the reactor internal structure to
    become radioactive . The level of radioactivity and the decay rate
    (half-life ) will depend on the structural materials chosen ; both
    could in principle be made low .
3.1 Radioactivity in a Fusion Reactor
    The only radioactive substance inherent to the fuel cycle of the
    currently-envisaged fusion reactor is tritium . In addition ,
    radioactivity is induced in the structure of the reactor by the
    neutrons arising from the fusion reactions . These two sources of
    radioactivity have been considered in assessing the safety and
    environmental aspects of fusion reactors in the following sections .
3.2 Tritium
    Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen . It has a radioactive
    half-life of 12.3 years and decays by emitting beta-radiation
    ( electrons ) . Tritium is present in very small quantities at all
    times from natural sources in the upper atmosphere . Man-made
    tritium , mainly from thermonuclear weapons testing programmes , far
    exceeds the natural background levels of tritium . Gaseous tritium
    oxidises in air and in the soil to form tritiated water (HTO ) and
    in this form it is more readily absorbed by human tissue . However ,
    tritiated water does not concentrate in the body but is excreted
    with a biological half-life of about ten days . Fortunately ,
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       6.
      tritiated water in the environment disperses and dilutes in the
      ecosystem much faster than fission products and actinides . For
      example , the half life of the loss of tritiated water from the
      upper layers of the soil is measured in days , whereas fission
      products and actinides can contaminate land and buildings for very
      long periods . There is no evidence or known mechanism for the
      concentration of tritium in the food chain .
3.3 . Tritium Inventories
      The amount of tritium in the plasma of the reactor at any given
      time is very small - less than 1 g . The total tritium inventory for
      a 1200 MW plant will be about 3 kg of which about one third will be
      kept in a number of separated bunkered store rooms until required .
      The stored tritium need not be in the gaseous form but may be kept
      in a solid stable form such as a metallic tritide . There will also
      be tritium trapped in the lithium blanket surrounding the reactor
      and in the processing plant ; the quantity of tritium therein will
      depend upon the reactor design ranging from a few hundred grams to
      about 2 kg . The bulk of the tritium in a reactor - in store and in
      the blanket - is effectively immobilised and has a very low chance
      of escaping into the environment . Present knowledge , however ,
      indicates that the quantity of tritium that could be released in
      any conceivable accident could be reduced to about 200 g and this
      value   has  therefore  been  assumed   in   the assessment  of  the
      environmental consequences of the worst conceivable accident .
3.4   Radioactivity of the Internal Structure of the Reactor
      The neutrons resulting from the fusion reactions will make the
      structural materials of the reactor radioactive , but the level and
      longevity of the radioactivity depends essentially on the chemical
      composition of the elements used in the manufacture . The components
      closest to the plasma - particularly the torus wall and the blanket
      structure - will be subject to the most intense neutron bombardment
      and if made , for example , from conventional stainless steel will
      become the major fraction ( over 90% ) of the radioactive inventory
      of the plant . Although the total radioactive inventory of a fusion
      reactor at the time of shut down using conventional stainless
      steels for the torus wall and other internal structures will be
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 7.
       almost comparable to that of a fission plant of similar power the
       biological    hazards    ( radiotoxicity )    associated     with     steel
       activation products are significantly lower ( about one hundred
       times lower ) than those of fission products and actinides .
       Furthermore , the bulk of the activation products are trapped in the
       solid  structural material    of   the  reactor and   cannot   as  such be
       dispersed into the atmosphere .
       In making any safety and environmental assessments of fusion
       reactors , it is necessary to consider potential hazards specific to
       fusion that could arise especially from the radioactive tritium and
       from the activated reactor structure .      Studies have therefore been
      made on     the environmental impact during normal operation ,           the
       radioactive waste generated during the life of the reactor , and the
       environmental impact due to the worst possible accidents . These are
       reported in depth in the accompanying reports together with the
       assessement of the economics of a fusion reactor . A summary of each
       of these aspects is given in the following sections .
4.     ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT DURING NORMAL OPERATION
4.1   Routine Emissions
      The only gaseous part of the radioactive inventory of the
       currently-envisaged    fusion      reactor will be         the    tritium .
      Multiple-containment systems will be used with the steel-lined ,
       air-tight reactor building being the final barrier against the
       release of tritium into the environment . The largest internal loss
       of tritium during normal operation may occur via the coolant lines .
      This is because tritium can permeate into the cooling channels of
       the blanket . Operating experience gained from Canadian CANDU
       fission reactors , with comparable tritium concentrations in the
       coolant , indicates that , with existing technology , losses to the
       atmosphere can be kept to very low levels . On the basis of this
       experience , the total tritium released daily from a 1200 MW reactor
                                                          it
       is expected to be less than 1 / 100 g (3.7 TBq)       which would result
       in maximum dose to the most exposed individual of the public local
                                        *
       to the plant of about 10      Sv    (1 mrem) per year . This is well
 Bq = Becquerel ; TBq ■ 1,000,000,000,000 Bq ;
  Sv «* Sievert ; mSv * Milli-Sievert ;     Sv = Micro Sievert
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      8.
    below the limit Imposed by current regulations for fission reactors
    ( 50-300    Sv or 5-30 mrem per year ) and would , for this most
    exposed person , increase the dose burden above that due to average
    natural background radiation by about 1% - much less than the
    variations in background radiation from place to place .
    The most    likely release of activation products during normal
    operation is from the     leakage of   corrosion products  from the
    primary cooling circuits or from a loss of cooling water during
    maintenance . Based on fission reactor experience , at most this
    would amount to a relatively small amount per year and the
    consequences to any member of the public would be negligible .
4.2 Radioactive Wastes
    The principal radioactive components of a fusion reactor will be
    the torus wall and the blanket structure , both of which will have
    become activated by the fusion neutrons . If conventional steels are
    employed , it is likely that these components will be replaced about
    four times during the life of the reactor . Low level wastes will
    also arise from various processing systems around the reactor .
    Experimental facilities , such as JET , use conventional types of
    stainless steel for the construction of the torus ; these steels are
    not ideal materials for a fusion reactor . The fusion technology
    programme is therefore investigating new materials , in which the
    alloying elements that become radioactive with long half-lives are
    replaced by elements with only short-lived radioactivity . These
    materials could reduce the radioactive inventory of the structure
    by a factor between 10 and 100 , the decay rates would be faster and
    recycling of many of these selected materials could be considered
    after about 100 years . The storage problems for such wastes would
    not only be for much shorter duration than waste from fission
    reactors (where the long-lived actinides are inherent to the
    process ) but would also be much easier to handle . The fusion waste
    would be in solid form and , having a large surface area , active
    cooling would not be necessary and furthermore deep geological
    disposal would not be required .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      9.
   In general , it is concluded that the radioactive wastes from the
   fusion process will be considerably easier to store and dispose of
   than the wastes from fission reactors .
5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT DUE TO ACCIDENTS
   Studies are being made of accident scenarios resulting from major
   technical failures of the reactor or plant . If such a severe
   accident caused the reactor building to be breached ( although this
   seems impossible ) then the radioactive release into the environment
   would be mainly tritium and some activated structural materials .
   No mechanism has been identified that could mobilise more than a
   few grams of radioactive particles from the reactor structural
   materials .
   The maximum quantity of tritium contained inside several different
   buildings of the fusion plant is considered to be about 3 kg . No
   sequence of events leading to the release of all this tritium could
   be found and the most severe accident identified would lead to the
   release into the environment of not more than 200 g of tritium . If
   this 200 g of tritium in the most hazardous form (HTO) were
   released from the building roof ( rather than from a high chimney
   stack ) under adverse weather conditions it would cause a maximum
   dose of 60-80 mSv (6 to 8 rems ) at a distance of 1 km from the
   plant . In such an incident , the levels of radiation would not cause
   direct harm to any member of the public or lead to the evacuation
   of the public outside the power station boundary fence .
   It is concluded , therefore , that releases of tritium - the most
   hazardous material in a fusion reactor - and radioactive internal
   structural materials will cause no Immediate harm to an individual
   or cause disruption to the normal life of the community outside the
   power station boundary fence during normal operation , during
   maintenance operations or even following a major accident or plant
   failure .
6. SAFETY ASPECTS
   Fusion reactors will be complex nuclear Installations but
   nevertheless appear to have a number of intrinsic safety features .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  10 .
The most important safety aspect is that whatever fails or goes
wrong with a fusion reactor , it cannot in any circumstance lead to
an uncontrolled , self-started and self-sustained nuclear runaway .
Moreover , the amount of fuel in the reactor core at any given time
is only sufficient for a few tens of seconds of operation and the
interruption of the flow of fuel , or a variation in the magnetic
confinement system because of a failure of the plant , will lead to
the instantaneous quenching of the plasma and the fusion reaction
will cease .
In the event of the shut-down of the reactor , cooling systems must
continue to operate to cope with the afterheat in the torus wall
and the blanket structure . In a fusion reactor , the afterheat will
be relatively low ( up to 2% of the operating power depending on the
structural materials of the reactor ) . Even in the unlikely
situation of the total failure of all the cooling systems , the low
level of afterheat and the large volume and surface area of the
structures are such that melting of the structures would not occur
for several hours or even may be avoided altogether by appropriate
design .
Safety for any nuclear reactor is of the utmost importance . A
fusion reactor will have a number of specific safety features built
in . The tritium plant will be built with multiple-containment
systems and the bulk of the tritium will be stored in a solid
immobile form and in separate bunkers away from the reactor to
minimise leakage to the environment . The tritium reprocessing will ,
in general , be carried out on site as an integral part of the
plant . There may be some transportation of tritium in immobilised
form outside the plant to start up new reactors . The reactor
building itself will be designed such that under all conceivable
internal accident conditions the building would not be breached .
Virtually all the radioactive inventory of a fusion reactor is
non-volatile structural materials and there are prospects that
long-lived radioactive materials can be avoided . The biological
hazard potential of the radio-isotopes from fusion reactors is low .
Even in the worst conceivable accident scenario , there seems no
circumstance resulting in immediate harm to an individual beyond
the site boundary or the evacuation of the public .
 ---pagebreak--- It is concluded therefore that fusion reactors will provide a safe ,
environmentally-acceptable future source of energy .
THE ECONOMIC PROSPECTS
For fusion power to be established as a commercial source of
energy , it is necessary for it to be economically competitive , to
satisfy existing safety requirements and to be acceptable to the
public . Just as it is not easy to predict the price of oil next
year , to predict some fifty years ahead whether an as-yet unproven
system will be competitive is difficult and uncertain , and by
necessity , will be based on a number of assumptions . The emphasis
of the current research programme has been directed to making the
fusion process work in large-scale experimental apparatus . In
parallel with these studies of the physics of plasma , several
conceptual design studies of fusion reactors have been carried out
to identify the general trends for future technological
developments . The majority of these studies have concentrated on
tokamak reactors ( reflecting the emphasis of the fusion research
programme ) although some alternative systems have been included .
These studies have produced preliminary estimates of both the
construction cost of a fusion plant and the cost of generating
electricity . As part of the NET study , for example , cost methods
suitable   for a  f irst -of - a-kind  tokamak  fusion reactor have been
evolved . From these , it appears that if a prototype commercial
reactor of 1200 MW electrical output ( sent out ) were built solely
based on the present knowledge of plasma physics and technology ,
the generating cost of electricity would be 2-3 times that
generated by today 's thermal fission and coal stations . This is , of
course , taking a very pessimistic case for fusion and comparing it
with   a  well-established       reactor  design .  Series production is
expected to reduce this gap significantly or even close it . It
should be noted that the present generating cost of electricity
from a fast breeder reactor ( also first of its kind ) is twice that
from conventional thermal fission reactors . As the development of
fusion power proceeds , it is reasonable to expect considerable
improvement and simplifications in both the technology and the
physics of plasmas which will lead to a reduction in the generating
costs . For example , the cost of the superconducting magnets
required for a fusion reactor are very high due principally to the
present very limited market for superconducting materials but their
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          12 .
cost is expected to drop as their applications increase . Also , the
costs of the blanket and cooling systems , and the reactor building
itself , are likely to fall in series production as operational
experience leads to simpler designs . A dramatic cost reduction
could also be made with improved plasma operations . If the beta
value - a measure of the efficiency of the magnetic field in
confining plasma - were increased by a factor of 3 from its
presently achieved values , then the generating cost of electricity
would be reduced by about 30% without taking account of increasing
power advantage so gained .
There are many examples where the economics of high technology
systems have been drastically improved from the first-of-a- kind
version . Therefore , the demonstration of scientific and technical
feasibility must be followed by physics and engineering
improvements together with simplifications of the overall system to
arrive at an economically-competitive power plant .
In contrast to the extensive literature containing fusion reactor
design studies with detailed cost estimates , there have been
several publications which argue that fusion will never be
economic . The main criticisms are that fusion devices have a low
power density , a long payback time and are too complex . It can be
seen   that   the use   of  power-density -based    comparisons     is  not
reasonable by examining fission reactors themselves where typical
                                                         -3
power densities are between 15 and 0.4 MW(th) /m , whereas the
construction and generation cost differences are within a factor of
two . The energy payback time is made by comparing the total energy
expended in all processes involved in the manufacture , construction
and operation of the plant compared with the total energy generated
during the working life of the reactor . For a fusion reactor , the
energy expended on the construction of the reactor is about twice
that for an equivalent fission plant , but when the energy of
manufacturing and processing of the fuel is taken into acount , then
the energy expended on fusion is s±_g_n_±_f_i cantljr__less _ than that for
the equivalent fission system . With regard to complexity , this
cannot yet be quantified , but by an analogy with aircraft , for
example , the increased complexity has not lead to a decrease in
reliability .
In summary , therefore , the information presented by the critics of
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       13 .
   fusion is often highly selective , and the conclusions are not
   supported by the detailed studies . It is true that the low power
   density of many present designs leads to high capital costs , but
   the estimated cost of electricity from fusion power stations is not
             I
   much greater than forecast costs from existing or other alternative
   energy sources .
   Several studies have attempted to calculate the generating cost of
   electricity from fusion in the mid twenty-first century and to
   compare this with the expected cost of electricity generated by
   coal , thermal fission , and solar photovoltaic cells . Despite fusion
   power having a high capital cost , the overall generating cost of
   electricity from a fusion power station is within the wide range of
   costs expected from existing or other alternative energy sources .
   Fusion can therefore not be dismissed purely on economic grounds .
   Indeed , it is reasonable to expect that nuclear fusion will emerge
   as one of the competing systems for the large-scale production of
   electricity in the middle of the twenty-first century .
8. CONCLUSIONS
   The two appended reports have evaluated the environmental , economic
   and safety aspects of fusion in considerable detail . They show that
   if the scientific feasibility can be demonstrated , then even
   without significant development , fusion would provide a safe power
   source with a very small environmental impact on the public during
   normal operation or even following a major reactor accident . There
   are also good prospects that the cost of fusion power , assuming
   reasonable technical developments and some improvements in the
   confinement of high temperature plasma , will be within the range
   expected from other large-scale energy sources in the middle of the
   next century . In addition , there are other potentially beneficial
   aspects of fusion power . These include the security of fuel
   availability - deuterium and lithium are spread widely - and the
   low price of fuel . As the tritium cycle is integral with the power
   plant , the fuel supply will not depend on external reprocessing
   systems . The handling and storage of the radioactive structure of a
   fusion reactor will create no new problems but the possibility of
   avoiding the need for long-term storage of radioactive waste by
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    14 .
developing suitable low activation materials is likely to be a
major advantage from a public acceptance viewpoint in many
countries . In addition , there would be no significant atmosphere
pollution from a fusion reactor , as is also the case with fission .
There is a range of possible long-term developments which would
result in an even more attractive reactor system . The reports
concentrated on the deuterium-tritium fusion system , but in the
longer term , other reactions involving deuterium alone , or
deuterium and helium-3 , could be considered . The benefit for such
reactions would be a considerably smaller radioactive inventory and
a very substantial simplification of the reactor , since the need
for breeding tritium would be eliminated . These reactions , however ,
require more sringent plasma conditions than those yet to be
established for the deuterium-tritium reaction .
The first concern must therefore be to build on the very good
progress made on demonstrating the scientific feasibility of
deuterium-tritium fusion and to establish the foundation required
to enable the NET programme to proceed . If NET and later DEMO
proceed satisfactorily and at the envisaged timescale , then a first
commercial fusion power station could be in operation towards the
middle of the next century . The high standard of living enjoyed by
industrialised countries owes much to the availability of cheap
energy for both domestic and industrial purposes . New sources of
energy will be needed as reserves of some fossil fuels are
diminished . The vast and well-distributed reserves of fuel and the
inherent safety of fusion reactors , together with the envisaged
environmental advantages and economic competitiveness make fusion a
desirable objective as a major source of safe energy for future
generations .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            15
                         ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF NUCLEAR FUSION
W   Gulden       The NET Team , Max-Planck Institut fur Plasmaphysik ,
                 D-8046 Garching bei Miinchen , FRG .
H. Klippel       Energy Research Foundation , NL-1755 ZG Petten ,
                 The Netherlands
P. Rocco         Joint Research Centre , I 21027 Ispra ( Varese ), Italy .
J.L. Rouyer      IPSN/ DPT / STEP , CEN de Saclay , BP . No . 2 ,
                 F - 91 190 Gif-sur - Yvette , France-
G. Kessler       Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe , INR , D-7500 Karlsruhe 1 , FRG .
                                          CONTENTS
                                                                  Page
0 . SUMMARY                                                        17
1 . INTRODUCTION                                                  21
2 . FEATURES OF A TYPICAL FUSION POWER PLANT                      22
3 . ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF A FUSION POWER PLANT                  29
4 . DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL                                         46
5 . CONCLUSIONS                                                   47
6 . REFERENCES                                                    48
7 . GLOSSARY                                                      50
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                    16 .
ACKNOWbEDGEMKNTG
        The authors are very grateful for the comments and suggestions of
Drs. C.M. Braams ( FOM ), B. Brunelli ( ENEA ), G. Casini ( JRC , Ispra ), J. Darvas
( CEC ), A. Gibson ( JET ), G. Grieger ( IPP ), R. Hancox ( UKAEA ), H.H. Hennies
( KfK ) , A. Malein ( CEC ), D. Palumbo ( CEC ), R.S. Pease ( UKAEA ), F. Prevot ( CEA ),
J. Raeder ( NET ) and R. Toschi ( NET ).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               17 .
0.   SUMMARY
0.1   I nherent safety features
          A fusion power plant can be designed for inherent safety such that
effects of all credible accidental circumstances on the environment will be
kept small by generic safety features : neither the externally supplied fuels
( deuterium and lithium ) nor the ultimate fusion reaction products ( helium ) are
radioactive or toxic ,      there   is a small fuel      inventory in the plasma , an
uncontrolled , self - started and self - sustained nuclear runaway is impossible ,
the power density in the first wall and blanket structure is relatively low ,
afterheat at shutdown is moderate ,        the bulk of radioactive material is non ¬
volatile     structural  material ,   and   the radio - isotopes have low biological
hazard potential .
0.2   Basis for assessment of environmental impact
        Based on plausible extrapolation from todays physics and technology to
reactor level , a FCTR ( First Commercial-sized Tokamak Reactor ) was defined .
This    FCTR   ( 1200 MWe )  is   used   as   a basis    for  the  assessment  of  the
environmental impact of Tokamak reactors .
0.3   Environmental impact during normal operation
       The levels of radioactive effluents in normal operation will match the
regulations in Europe and elsewhere and hence these effluents will not be a
hazard to the public . It is worth noting that the technical potential exists
for further reducing the emission to virtually insignificant levels .
Re lease of radioactivity during nor mal operation
         The principal sources of airborne radioactive effluents will be the
release of tritium from buildings , the corroded activation products that leak
through coolant loops ( forming aerosols ), the activation of the cover gas or
air inside the reactor building and gases released in auxiliary buildings
during radioactive waste management operations . Assuming adequate containment
measures , the annual atmospheric releases from normal operation and
maintenance procedures could be limited to about 2 g (= 740 TBq = 20000 Ci ) of
tritium and 18.5 GBq ( 0.5 Ci ) of activation products .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               18 .
          Aquatic radioactive releases will be mainly due to losses during
maintenance of water cooling systems and from processing of operational waste .
Annual effluents consist of about 0.15 g (= 55.5 TBq =* 1500 Ci ) of tritium and
185 GBq (5 Ci ) of activation products .
       The release values given have been obtained with moderate extrapolation
of present technological capabilities and can be considered as reasonably
conservative .
Radiation doses due to the release o f radioactivity during normal operation
      The above described radioactive release of tritium amounts to a total of
a few TBq/d ( about 800 TBq/ a ) from the fusion plant .  This release will result
in a maximum dose of the order of 0.015 mSv/ a ( 1.5 mrem / a ) to the most exposed
individual of the public ( stationed permanently downwind at the boundary of
the plant , eating food and drinking water gained at this place ). This is well
below the limit imposed by regulations ( 0.05 to 0.3 mSv/a = 5 to 30 mrem/a )
and is about 1$ of the average dose burden by natural background irradiation .
Environmental impact of non-radloactive e ffluent s
        Fusion plants do not emit CO^, nitrous oxide , or any other biotoxic
chemicals .   The generation of. waste heat is the same as in any other type of
steam raising plant .
0.H  Environmental impact due to accidents
        The analysis of accident scenarios following major technical failures
leads to the conclusion that the radioactive effluents ( mainly tritium ) in
such cases would have a very low impact on the lives and the health of the
surrounding population .
Release of radioactivity under accidental conditions
     The most severe hypothetical accident would lead only to a release to the
environment of about 200 g of tritium .
          Essentially no mechanism was found that could mobilize significant
fractions    of  structural  materials .    The  worst   hypothetical   release    of
radioactive particles is a few grams .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                              19
Radi ati on doses due to _re lease of radioacti vity under accidental cond itions
        The hypothetical release of 200 g tritium in the most hazardous form of
HTO from the building roof , although building breaching appears not to be
possible , would cause a maximum dose of 0.06 to 0.08 Sv (6 to 8 rem ) at 1 km
distance , under worst weather conditions and dry deposition .       These values are
within the limit of 0.05 to 0.15 Sv (5 to 15 rem )         accepted by the licensing
authorities for abnormal events of low probability .
0.5   Waste
            The   radioactive  waste generated   by   fusion  power   plants will  be
quantitatively comparable to fission reactors , but qualitatively it will be
much less of a potential hazard .
       It is likely that the high level waste from FCTR , mainly first wall ( AISI
316 ) disposals , can be handled like spent fission fuel elements . The amount
of   first   wall   waste is  of the same  order   but  the  hazards  are much  lower
compared to spent fission fuel .         Structural materials from spent breeder
blanket segments will have a high volume for disposal if the segments are
replaced frequently , but there is a good potential for material re-use or
easier management when alternative structural materials have been developed .
      The quantity and disposal strategy of low level waste generated annually
from normal operation of FCTR are comparable to that of fission reactors ,
providing that care is bestowed on detritiation and tritium immobilisation .
0.6   Low activation materials
        The presently used austenitic and martensitic steels do not meet fusion
wastes long term requirements .       Low activation materials under development
could avoid the needs of long term isolation and deep geological disposal .
Even recycling and re-use might be possible after some decades .
0.7   Direct radiation , magnetic fields , radiofrequency radiation
         No difficulties are expected in conforming to existing guidelines for
long term exposure to magnetic fields , radiofrequency radiation and direct
radiation ( e.g . by neutrons ).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            20 .
0.8  Impact on the public , short and l ong t erm aspects
          All environmental aspects of fusion are presently good ;      the main
advantages to be emphasized are the low risks induced by severe accidents and
the non existence of important long term (> 100 a ) potential hazards .
0.9  Development potent ial
       The good situation for fusion can even be improved by developing the
potentials for further limiting the wastes and the tritium inventory .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               21
1 .   INTRODUCTION
         The final goal of developing fusion power plants is the production of
electric energy in a safe and economic manner and with little short and long
term impact on the environment .
        Present designs which can only be based on todays physics and technology
have to be considered as a first step only . This holds for both the type of
reactor and the materials used .       However , even based on todays technology ,
fusion power plant designs indicate •        compared to e.g. coal , oil , fission
power plants - advantages with respect to environmental impact :
     Once the ignition conditions are reached , the fuel is             continuously
     introduced   in  the  plasma  chamber  at   the  rate   needed  to sustain the
     reaction .  When the fuel flow is interrrupted , the reaction stops .
     An uncontrolled , self started and self-sustained nuclear power runaway is
     impossible as a change of operating conditions will lead to instability of
    'the plasma and subsequently end the burn process .
     The fuel content in the plasma is small ( about 1 gram ).
     In general all operations on fuel cycle are within the plant itself .
     No emission of CO^, SC^ or N0x .
     Development potentials still exist for fusion in the near future , e.g. by
     the use of low activation materials .
          The material presented in the following chapters pertains to tokamak
reactors based on todays technology .        It mainly emerged from the European
Fusion Programme whose focus is the design and construction of NET ( Next
European Torus ). This fusion device will be an experimental reactor with a
thermal power of about 600 MW and has to provide the major part of the
knowledge necessary for designing a demonstration reactor ( DEMO ).
       A " First Commercial-sized Tokamak Reactor " ( FCTR ) has been defined as the
basis for the results and comparisons contained in the following chapters .
This has been done by using plausible extrapolations from todays conceptual
designs to the reactor level ( about 1200 MWg ).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                        22 .
 2•  FEATURES OF A TYPICAL FUS ION POW ER PLANT
 2.1   Definition of a tokamak power plant
        Extrapolation from present conceptual experimental tokamak devices such
as   INTOR   / 1 / and NET    121  to fusion power plants can be performed with
different degrees of conservatism .        Table 1 displays some typical parameters .
       The INTOR and NET parameters reflect a prudent interpretation of present
day physics and technology .       FCTR / 3 / ( First Commercial - si zed Tokamak Reactor )
 is  a   reasonable   extrapolation    of    todays   conceptual    design  parameters   to
 reactor level .    STARFIRE / H / - a US conceptual reactor design - contains many
 advanced assumptions and design characteristics .
 TABLE 1 : Typical fusion device parameters
                                           INTOR       NET-DN     FCTR        STARFIRE
 Fusion power ( MW )                       585         600          3590      3510
lElectrical power ( net , MW )                0        0            1200      1200
Toroidal field on plasma axis ( T )        5.5         5.0           5.7       5.8
 Plasma current ( MA )                     8.0        10.8          18.0      10.1
                                2
 Neutron wall loading ( MW/m )             1.3         1 .0          1 .8      3.6
                      2
 First wall area (m )                      352         M80          1600       780
 The following assessment of the radioactive inventory and environmental impact
 of Tokamak reactor designs - as will be discussed in the subsequent sections -
 will make reference mainly to FCTR because it is considered to be the most
 representative reactor concept in Europe in terms of todays physics and
 technological capabilities .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                              23
2.2 Inhérent Safety
         A FCTR will have some generic safety features which suggest that the
effects on the environment will be small .    These are :
    - an uncontrolled , self-started and self-sustained nuclear power runaway
        is impossible ,
    - low fuel inventory in the plasma chamber ,
    - relatively low power density in first wall and blanket structure ,
    - moderate afterheat at shut-down ( up to 2% of operating power in the
       first wall and blanket structure ) diluted on a large surface !
    - the bulk of the radioactive material is non-volatile structural
      material ,
    - relatively low biological hazard potential of the radio-isotopes .
       In addition it seems to be possible to design a containment such that it
will not lose integrity under all conceivable internal and external accident
conditions .
2.3   Multiple containment concept
       The most volatile part of the radioactive inventory of FCTR is tritium .
Therefore the safe containment of tritium inside the fusion plant for both
normal operation and accidental       conditions will     become mandatory .  This
requires a multiple-containment concept ( in general triple ), to minimize the
release of tritium to the environment .
2.4   Radioactive inventories
2.4.1 Tritium inventory
General remarks
        For the first application ( D-T cycle ) fusion reactors , tritium will be
used as fuel , the D-T reaction products being stable He4 nuclei and high
energy neutrons .     The tritium inventory in the plasma chamber will be very
small (1 gram ). The total tritium inventory in a plant , however , will be some
 ---pagebreak---                                                                           24 .
kilograms , distributed in the storage , the process systems and the reactor
structures .    The bulk of the tritium will be stored in a solid immobiie form
and in separate bunkers away from the reactor .
      Tritium is of moderate radiotoxicity , with a half life of 12.3 years .  It
emits 6-radiation with a maximum energy of 18 keV .         The radiotoxicity of
tritium strongly depends on its chemical form : gaseous tritium ( T2 , HT ) is
about 25000 times less dangerous compared to the oxide ( HTO ). Gaseous tritium
partly combines with oxygen in the air to HTO or is being oxidized to HTO by
bacteria in the soil .      In HTO form it is more readily absorbed by human
tissue .    However , tritiated water does not concentrate in the body but is
excreted    with  a half   life  of  about  ten  days .  Tritiated water  in the
environment disperses through the ecosystem much faster than fission products
and actinides . For example , the half life of the loss of tritiated water from
the upper layers of the soil is measured in days / 5 /, whereas fission products
and actinides can contaminate land and buildings for very long periods . There
is no evidence or known mechanism for its concentration in the food chain .
        Tritium was at all times present in the world atmosphere , the natural
inventory of today ( equilibrium concentration ) is in the range of 7 to 14 kg ,
primarily produced by the interaction of cosmic rays and nitrogen nuclei .
         Man made tritium reaching the atmosphere by far exceeds this natural
inventory . Data on tritium production and release are scarce . As an example
up to 1974 the maximum annual release from the Savannah river plant was
evaluated to be about 70 g / 6 /. Thermonuclear weapon testing in the atmosphere
is responsible for about 90$ of the present worlds atmospheric inventory of
tritium .     For example the integrated releases over all years of weapons
testing up to 1978 summed up to about 700 kg , leading to a maximum inventory
in the atmosphere of about 310-450 kg in 1963 , declining to 120-170 kg in 1980
/6/ .
Tritium systems inventories
         The evaluation of the tritium inventory in fusion reactors is strongly
dependent on design choices and on details of reactor systems design .    Lack of
information on tritium behaviour in material :? is an additional source of
uncertainty .    The main uncertainty arises from design alternatives in plasma
feed   and   exhaust ,  isotopic  separation ,  breeding blanket , fuel  storage .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                   25
However progress has been achieved in recent years during the definition of
experimental reactors like NET and INTOR , and the tritium inventory figures
have tended to decrease . It can also be stated that the design data of the
tritium cycle in an experimental reactor can be transferred to Tokamak power
reactors .     In fact , since fusion physics does not allow small dimensions and
zero     power   in  a   representative  experimental    device ,  there     will   be   no
significant uprating in design data from experimental to power reactors .               The
present data applicable to FCTR are about 3 kg .
Mobil izable tritium inventories
        The definition of mobilizable inventory is somewhat arbitrary without a
thorough accident analysis .         It can be stated ,     however ,  that tritium in
process systems such as plasma chamber evacuation , plasma exhaust impurity
processing , solid breeder tritium recovery , plasma fuel delivery , coolant
loops , has higher probabilites of releases to the environment than tritium
permeated in structural materials or stored in stable form .
        Tritium mobilizable inventories quoted for INTOR / 8 / are 500 - 1600 g ,
with    maximum localized inventories of 150 - 900 g , the higher values
pertaining to solid ,      the lower values to liquid breeder options .             Design
guidelines proposed for NET / 9 / would seek to maintain localised tritium
inventories     which   could   be released   under  accidental   conditions     into   the
surrounding      containment   to  below  150   g.  It  is   expected    that   the    main
mobilizable inventories of FCTR will be not much larger than those of NET ; a
careful     estimate   for   FCTR  leads  to   a value   of  about    200g .    Operating
experience with an engineering test reactor will permit the tritium handling
of FCTR to be optimized with respect to mobilizable inventories ( if this turns
out to be an important design objective ).
2.H.2     Neutron Induced radioactivity
General remarks
         In fusion reactors neutrons formed in the fusion process will activate
the surrounding structures . The plasma facing components such as the first
wall will be subjected to extreme conditions of the fusion environment . At
the same time , they will build up the major fraction of the neutron induced
radioactivity in the plant .
    •* £
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             26 .
           It is very likely that the austenitic stainless steel AISI 316 or a
comparably well established martensitic steel will have to be the selected
material for experimental reactors such as NET . These steels , however , being
optimized to meet requirements for use in fission power plants are not an
optimal choice for fusion ( due to their relatively high activation
potentials ). To meet fusion requirements further developments could lead to
the use of austenitic and martensitic steels with constituents chosen in order
to have improved strength and a lower level' of induced activation .         In the
long term the use of low activation alloys can be seen as an important R+D
( research and development ) objective .
Activation inventories
       The total radioactive inventory of FCTR at shut-down , with the parameters
indicated in Table 1 , and AISI 316 as structural material can be evaluated to
be 333,000,000 TBq (9 GCi ) of activated products      after about 5 years of full
                               2
power operation ( 10 MWa/ m ) / 7 /.        About 43$   of this radioactivity is
                                                                             3
concentrated in the first wall , with a maximum         value of 9.6 TBq / cm ( 260
       *3
Ci / cm ), 47$ in the blanket structures , 8$ in the   breeder material , and 2$ in
the inner shield .      The specific radioactivity of   the breeder material is of
the order of 148 GBq/cm^ (4 Ci /cm^) in the case of the 17Li83Pb eutectic , and
is mainly due to neutron interaction on lead .
          The neutron induced radioactivity of FCTR decreases after shut-down of
the plant to about 30$ within one year .            The residual radioactivity of
structural materials after 10 years and           100 years is 2.5$ and 0.02$ ,
respectively . The contribution of the 17Li83Pb breeder becomes relevant ( more
                                                                          4
than 10$ of the total ) only after very long decay times ( more than 10 years ).
        However , as mentioned previously , it is more realistic to assume that in
the future improved structural materials other than AISI 316 will be used for
fusion power reactors .        The following structural materials with a low
potential for neutron activation are already under development :
- Austenitic stainless steels modified to replace Ni with Mn and Mo with W
    and/ or V. The steel AMCR-33 is an example of this family , since it does
    not contain Co and Mo , and Ni is reduced to 0.1$ . With this material
    instead of AISI 316 significant reduction in radioactivity inventory can be
    expected for long decay times ( better than a factor of 10 after 100 years ,
    see fig . 3 ).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                           27 .
- Ferritic-martensitic steel in which Mo and Nb are replaced by W , V and Ta .
   The advantages will be comparable to those ol‘ AMC.R-33 .
- V1 5Cr5Ti : The radioactive inventory will be about one order of magnitude
   lower compared to AMCR-33 and also the radioactive decay rate will be
   faster ( see Fig . 3 ).
2.5    Indices of radiological hazards
        Various indices of radiological hazards exist to quantify the danger to
the    public posed by unanticipated releases of radionuclides into the
environment .
2.5.1     Activity
        The most widely available but also the least informative measure for the
hazard is the activity defined in Becquerels (= desintegrations per second ) or
in Curies . Using this measure , a fusion plant employing steel ( AISI 316 ) as
structural material will be comparable to a fission plant of similar power
because the radioactive inventory is about the same . The use of vanadium
alloys ( e.g. V15Cr5Ti ) reduces the activity by about one order of magnitude .
2.5.2     Biological hazard potential
         The potential biological consequences of steel activation products is
considerably lower than that of fission products and actinides .       To quantify
this effect , a more meaningful index , the biological hazard potential ( BHP ) is
used .     It  takes  into  account  the differences   in such hazard-determining
properties as half-life , decay mode and energy , radioactive progeny of the
radionuclides , and lifetime in the body tissues .
       The BHP is defined as the activity ( A ) divided by the maximum permissible
concentration ( MPC ) of a radionuclide , summed for all radionuclides present :
                   BHP = I(Ai/MPC .)
( The MPC is the concentration of a radionuclide in air or water that would
produce the maximum permissible dose if a person were breathing continuously
the contaminated air or drinking the contaminated water.).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      28 .
       Using the such defined BHP for comparison , results in hazards about 2
orders of magnitute smaller in the fusion case ( AISI 316 ), than in fission .
This  difference  increases  with decay time and the scenario is even more
favourable to fusion if vanadium alloys or other low activation materials are
used as structural materials .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                              29 .
3.    ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF A FUSION POWER PLANT
3.1 Radioactive releases
3.1.1 General remarks
        In the following sections the potential environmental impact of FCTR is
outlined , for both normal operation and accidental situations . The background
information on which this report is based is given in references / 7 / and / 10 /
to / 13 / and the literature quoted therein . It represents the state of present
day knowledge . As FCTR is still in the preconceptual stage this assessment
can only be very general .
         Tritium is the most volatile part of the radioactive inventory .          To
minimise its release to the environment , a multiple-containment concept is
used .     The  inner primary containment consists of the tritium containing
equipment .    This all-metal equipment is installed in a secondary containment
( e.g. glove boxes , jacketed tubing ) which is as small as possible in volume to
allow    continuous    extraction   of  tritium   from   the   enclosed   containment
atmosphere .    The tertiary containment acting as a last barrier against tritium
release into the environment constitutes the reactor building ( with steel
liner inside ), the tritium facility building or other air-tight buildings , see
fig.1 . The atmosphere of these buildings may also have to be detritiated by
an emergency clean-up system in abnormal and accident situations .
        The availability and performance of atmospheric clean-up systems are of
vital    importance   for  the   effectiveness  of   both   secondary   and  tertiary
containments .    In addition , the reactor building is slightly underpressurized
to prevent outward leakage from the containments .
3.1.2 Radioactive releases during normal operation and maintenance
       Most routine releases of radioactive products will originate from liquid
waste processing systems and from ventilation systems of various buildings
where radioactivity may become airborne . The liquid and gaseous effluents
( consisting of tritium and . gaseous corrosion products ) are continuously
monitored and are released into the environment under controlled conditions .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               concrète containment
     heat exchanger                                                           steel liner
                                                                              cryostat
     primary coolant                                                          vacuüm vessel
     loop
                                                                              breeding blanket
     secondary                                                                first wall
     coolant
     loop                                                                     plasma
                     /      Hh                               /////Á\^A
                                                              fuelling  ¿
       vzzzzzzjzzzzT.^                    ///// ■ ü=^ j                                        Muezzz.
        \                   /         >^ ////                            / tritium
                                                                               tritium         /
                                                                                               /
         \_                         \ YsYK         />K\1–*- recovery           recovery      h   *-1–*~
                            / -!r_Lf /\A           /f \\                 // from
                                                                               from blanket
                                                                                       blanket x _I_               /
                                                                                                                   /
                            A          I   I        I   I                A)Z ;;;7, v4y ireprocessiï
                                                                                                 reprocessmç       /
         /                  / __U          II     11    II               /j- // ZZZZ //./.-Z/    purification , "j /
       /                    ^
                            ^         \\ y/        Wy
                                                   YS</                  / 1 1 tritium
                                                                         M     tritium ' litKJ isotope
                                                                               tritium           SJ
                                                                                                 separatiori
                                                                                                 separatio
                                                                                                             l     /
                                                                                                                   /
      /                     C       | W                     |            A I t-storaae
                                                                             i-storaae -M fk
                            /        -                                   A/ ///Y//?
                            /                           |,        – Tl I /      -,    l_ /        ^_
      \                     /                         L_ vacuum
                                                           vacuum      _ ^ _r                  /_                  /
       I                    /                             IpugB_ /
                                                           pump                                <
      /_\A_U_U_                                                                                                    Z
           turbine building       reactor building                             tritium System building
Fig . 1 : Schematic view of the multiple containment concept of a fusion power plant
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                            31 .
Tritium
           The major sources of tritium release during normal operation and
maintenance are :
   - leakage and permeation from the plasma chamber and fuel handling system ;
   - leakage from first wall and blanket coolant lines , leakage from steam
     generators ;
   - leakage and permeation from tritium processing system .
      To quantify tritium releases it is common to use both mass units ( g ) and
activity units ( Bq or Ci ), the correlation being the specific activity of
about 370 TBq / g or 10000 Ci / g .
        All critical tritium-containing components are located in the tritium
facility building or the reactor building .             Estimates of the atmospheric and
aquatic releases of tritium from the FCTR are given in tables 2 and 3 , taken
from / 7 /.
TABLE 2 - Annual atmospheric emissions of a fusion reactor ( FCTR )
                           Operation            Maintenance               Totals
                          TBq          ( Ci )     TBq       ( Ci )
Tritium
Coolant system            185       ( 5000 )     56   ,    ( 1500 )      about
Torus                       0.4         ( 10 )  185        ( 5000 )      450 TBq ( 12000 Ci ) as HTO
Diagnostics                                      37        ( 1000 )    + 330 TBq ( 9000 Ci ) as Ht
Process system              4         ( 100 )
(+ waste preparation )                          117        ( 3000 )  =»780 TBq ( 21000 Ci )
Tritium recovery           11         ( 300 )
Reactor hall                                     185        ( 5000 )
                          200          ( 5410 )  580      ( 15500 )
Activation products*^                                                     18 GBq   ( 0.5 Ci )
Cover gas                negligible ( with hold-up tank )
♦)
    Data for AISI 316
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                   32 .
TABLE 3 - Annual aquatic emissions of a fusion reactor ( FCTR )
                                   Operation and Maintenance
                                     TBq            ( Ci )
Tritium+)                           55.5          ( 1500 )
                       ++ )
Activation products                  0.185             (5)
      Mainly due to losses during maintenance of coolant systems ,
      but also including streams from waste processing .
++ ^ Assuming resuspension of corrosion products in the coolant .
         The largest internal loss of tritium during normal operation is expected
to occur from the water coolant lines .        It originates from tritium permeation
into the primary coolant system ( few g / d ) and by permeation and leakage
through the heat exchangers into the secondary coolant circuit .
          The operating experience of existing CANDU HWR ( heavy water reactor )
plants with comparable tritium concentrations in the coolant including
improved tritium containment measures , provides a good basis for the estimate
of tritium leakage from the coolant circuit of FCTR . Tritium concentration
in the coolant can be maintained at a very low level of order of 37 GBq/ 1 (1
Ci / 1 ) by employing permeation barriers and present technology of detritiation
systems .      Taking into account present developments for CANDU reactors ,
unrecovered water leakage from the primary coolant into the reactor hall are
expected to be less than 10 1 / d , / 1 4 / , resulting in a tritium loss of about
185 TBq/ a ( 5000 Ci / a ). . The atmospheric tritium release from the secondary
coolant loop can be maintained at a small fraction of that from the primary
coolant circuit .
          There exist many more uncertainties on tritium inventory and tritium
recovery from solid breeder materials than for liquid breeder materials . It
was estimated that the tritium loss from the tritium recovery system is less
than 11.7 TBq / a ( 300 Ci / a ), for both concepts .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                  33 .
       The routine tritium loss from the fuel handling system and other tritium
processing systems in the tritium facility building is expected to be in the
order of 3-7 TBq/a ( 100 Ci /a ) if efficient multi-containment and detritiation
systems are provided .
       The dominant contribution of the tritium loss to the reactor building of
about 555 TBq/a ( 15000 Ci /a ) comes from maintenance operations on plasma
chamber , from blanket replacements , and from coolant system maintenance .           If
necessary much of the tritium released during maintenance could be removed by
the emergency clean up system or by temporary secondary enclosures around
critical areas with detritiation of the enclosed atmosphere .
        As shown in table 2 the total annual atmospheric tritium emission will
be about 777 TBq ( 21000 Ci ), of which about 60% is in the form of HT0 and 40%
as HT .
        The aquatic emissions will be about 55.5 TBq ( 1500 Ci ), mainly due to
losses during maintenance of coolant systems , but also including streams from
waste processing .
        These tritium releases from the FCTR of a few TBq/ d ( about 800 TBq/ a )
might be acceptable .    This implies a leak tightness of the tritium system of
1  ppm/ d of    the gaseous as well    as  the    liquid  circuits .     The required
containment appears to be within reach and large scale demonstration of these
capabilities is in progress / 15 /.
Activation products
         Assuming water cooling the dominant sources of activation products as
discharged during normal operation are the corrosion products leaking from
the primary coolant circuits .
        Much of the corrosion products are deposited on the inner surfaces of
the primary coolant pipes and the primary side of the steam generator . The
water treatment system controls the concentration level of dissolved material
                                                        3 _ _        -      . 3
in the coolant , being in the range of 1 to 4 GBq/m ( 0.03 to 0.11 Ci /m ).
          Approximately 18.5 GBq/ a ( 0.5 Ci / a ) of activated products will be
released from the coolant circuit at a leak rate of             10 1 / d .   The main
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             34 .
radionuclides are Fe55 , Fe59 , Mn54 , Mn56 , Cr51 , Co58 , C06O .  The discharge is
assumed to be into the reactor building atmosphere by all-vapour leakage ,
although some of the losses to the aquatic system should also be considered .
The   atmospheric    release   could  be  significantly      reduced   by  efficient
filtering .
         The deposition of the corrosion products on internal surfaces causes
radiation    levels  which are    of particular   concern    during  inspection  and
maintenance operations .
        Coolant water lost during maintenance will have an enhanced level of
activation products due to resuspension of the crud normally adhering to the
pipe walls (a factor of 100 has been reported ).           This leads to estimated
aqueous releases of 0.185 TBq / a (5 Ci / a ) of         corrosion products from
maintenance operations .
Building cover gas
      The activation of the air atmosphere in the reactor building , mainly due
to neutrons leaking from the shielding ,       results   in the build-up of some
radionuclides such as Ar4l and C14 which is formed mainly by the reaction
14        14
   N(n,p ) C. The use of C0? as cover gas would reduce the production of this
nuclide by a factor of 10°6 . 2
3.1.3    Potential releases of radioactivity in accidental conditions
General
       Because fusion reactor designs are still at their conceptual stage , any
attempt to quantify non-routine releases of radioactivity is difficult at the
moment .
          For some identified cases maximum possible consequences have been
estimated .     As fusion safety studies and reactor designs develop , more
credible accidents will be able to be identified , not just the maximum
consequences of accidents .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            35 .
       The definition of potential sequences of accidental events does not
necessarily mean that such accidents will occur frequently or even at all .
Many design features are likely to be envisaged to minimise the probability
of accidents and to reduce or even exclude the consequences to the
environment . Moreover fusion reactors are expected to have a low potential
for accidents which may affect the general public , due mainly to the generic
safety features .
          Two major mechanisms are required for an accidental release of
radioactivity to the environment :    both the volatilizing and mobilizing of
potentially hazardous material and the rupture of the containment .          The
building containment is designed to prevent most materials from reaching the
environment , therefore non-routine losses from components normally do not
result in releases which endanger the public .
Possible accidentai tritium releases
      Estimates have been made for INTOR and for other conceptual designs of
the upper limit and the area of tritium loss which can arise from a number of
identified potential accidents / 7 /. These figures are also applicable to a
power reactor    like FCTR since a significant     increase in the mobilizable
inventory is not expected .   They allow the evaluation of the possible tritium
release to the environment and their dose rate to the public .
      In the most severe cases ( rupture of coolant pipes , failure of part of
the tritium processing system , failure of cryopump ) up to 200 g of tritium
can be released into the reactor building .      Tritium may also be lost from
rupture of components inside the tritium recovery and isotopic separation
system ( order of 100 g ), but this loss is within the secondary containment .
Taking into account tritium removal by the detritiating system of the
secondary containment a subsequent tritium release of 0.1 g/ h into the
process hall might be expected .
      Quick detection and effective performance of the emergency atmospheric
clean-up system in the reactor building or process building should be capable
of reducing the personal exposure and the release outside the building to
about 100 GBq/ d (a few Ci /d ).     However , for the worst case analysis of
environmental impact no retention mechanism will be accounted for .        As a
reference case for this report a maximum accidental release of 200 g tritium
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               36 .
to  the    environment  was  defined . This source   term is the basis for the
determination of the radiation exposures of individuals in the surrounding of
the plant .
Potential release of activation products
       The accidental release of activation products is the most difficult to
assess .    The most mobilizable parts of the plant 's radioactive inventory are
the  fluids e.g.     the  primary coolant system .   The radioactive structural
material for which melting and vaporization is required for mobilization and
release to the environment has the lowest level of mobilizability .     There is
even hope that , due to inherently safe design , melting of structural material
may be effectively excluded .
      The following most relevant potential mechanisms to mobilize activation
products have been identified :
   - plasma disturbances ;
   - coolant system failures ;
   - magnet failure ;
   - cryogénie depressurization ;
   - hydrogen explosion ;
   - fire ;
   - auxiliary system failure and external hazards .
        The most probable release of activation products in case of accidents
are those related to structural heat-up of first wall and blanket , namely
plasma disruptions and blanket coolant failures .
         The most pessimistic assumption resulting from a plasma disruption is
the release of some grams of ablated first wall material through a broken
vacuum vessel into the reactor hall . However , most of the eroded material
from the first wall may be redeposited inside the plasma chamber or
elsewhere .
          The main concern in a cooling failure is related to the decay heat
following shut down of the reactor . It has to be expected that in case the
cooling failure is not detected , the plasma burn will automatically be
terminated due to the ingress of volatilized material subsequent to the
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 37
temperature rise of the first wall . Depending on the design of the blanket
and cooling system different scenarios of coolant system accidents can
follow .     In  the   most  pessimistic   case   of  cooling   loss  the  afterheat
production causes melting and degradation of the structure and consequently
release of activation products only after some hours .            This would appear
sufficient time for intervention .        Moreover , with passive cooling design
solutions and proper material selection , melting of the structure appears to
be inherently avoidable .
        Coolant tube breaks would lead to the release of radioactive corrosion
products ( and tritium ) present in the coolant , and possibly to the generation
of mobile material subsequent        to  the  temperature   rise or break of the
structure or by chemical reactions .
       The only important accident initiators which could lead to damage of the
magnet and / or other reactor components are arcing across current leads or the
rupture of a single conductor .    Simultaneous rupture of a complete winding at
two different locations has been postulated for the severest event .              The
probability of this event however is extremely low because the prerequisite
leading to such an accident is scarcely imaginable from the physics point of
view .   If such a hypothetical accident is assumed , the broken section could
be accelerated leading to some damage on reactor components such as coolant
lines or tritium processing lines .        The building containment however will
withstand this hypothetical accident as it is designed to withstand even
worse    events   like   airplane   crashes   and    explosions .     Therefore   the
consequences of arcing would be      mainly in terms of economics due to reactor
downtime and costly repair .
       The same holds for an accidental release of He being used as coolant for
the superconducting magnets .     First calculations indicate that the building
containment can be designed to withstand the pressure loads resulting from
evaporation of the total He inventory .
       It is difficult to exclude , as in all complex systems , a fire accident .
However , care is already being taken to choose materials , wherever possible ,
so that this event will be minimized .        This is the case for the breeders
where materials such as liquid LiPb and Li-ceramics are now preferred to
lithium metal because of their low chemical reactivity with air and water .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                              38 .
       In case of external events ( earthquakes , missiles , aircraft , sabotage )
the tritium which may be involved will at most be that which is contained in
one of the tertiary containments , i.e. the reactor building or the tritium
process building ( containing about 100 g of tritium divided between separate
isolated rooms ).        It is a likely assumption that in case of accidental
release of activated material in the reactor building deposition and
adsorption effects will strongly reduce the emissions to the environment .
3.2   Radiological effects to the environment
       The dose to an individual ( measured in rem or Sv = Sievert ) at defined
distance from the plant , obtained during a defined time of exposure is the
most meaningful hazard index .        However , to perform dose calculations many
assumptions must be made , leading to greatly varying results .
3.2.1   Dose criteria for normal operation and abnormal events
       Dose criteria are given in the CEC directive 80 / 836 which is in close
agreement with ICRP recommendations / 1 6 / .       The basic recommended maximum
allowable annual dose limits for whole body radiation are :
- 50 mSv/ a (5 rem / a )    for the most exposed working group , and
    5 mSv/ a ( 0.5 rem/a ) for the Most Exposed Individual ( MEI ) of the public .
   These limits are intended for conditions where the source of radiation is
   subject to control and therefore do not apply to doses from accidental
   releases .
Exposure limits used as design guidelines follow the As Low As Reasonably
Achievable ( ALARA ) principle and are more restrictive .      The following values
are frequently used :
- for normal operation 1 to 2 mSv/a ( 0.1 to 0.2 rem/a ) as average dose and 5
   to 10 mSv/ a ( 0.5 to 1 rem/ a ) as maximum dose for the most exposed working
   group ; 0.1 mSv/a ( 10 mrem/a ) as average ( with range of 0.05 to 0.3 mSv/ a (5
   to 30 mrem )) for the MEI
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 319
        1°     --- ----
    0 ,
        10 *2 - ■■               -
    u.
    o
    Q)
    >>
    O
        10'3 - – ■■■■I _
    u
    o
    <u
    c-
    <D
    CL
    >>
    O
    c
    <D  10 -5 -
    cr
    o>
    L_
  _Q>
        ^Q-6 _                                  2" (( ff)) (large
                                                           (large accidents
                                                                   accidents))
  *9
  ’ (/)
    (/)
    E
    1.
    <u    „-7                                         singee large
                                              ( f ) ( sing      large acciden
                                                                       accidenj
    Q.   10   -L.–                                                    i-
    O                          \
    O
  I–
         кГ* -------
              10-5    10 ‘4      10‘3  10'2  10‘1            1        10
                            Whole body dose D [Sv]
Fig 2 : CEGB Safety Criteria for Accidental Releases and Exposures to the
        Public / 17 /.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                     AO .
- for abnormal events doses in excess of the regulatory limits are accepted ,
    these values are 50 to 150 mSv (5 to 15 rem ) for events with a probability
                     -7
    of less than 10     per year (= hypothetical accidents ); 0.3 to 5 mSv ( 30 to
                                                    -4 .      -2
    500 mrem ) for events of low probability ( 10      to 10      per year ) and 0.05 to
                                                                              -2 .     ..-1
    0.3 mSv (5 to 30 mrem ) for events of moderate probability ( 10               to 10
    per year ). The values refer to the MEI , values for workers are a factor of
    10 higher .
           AS an example fig .    2 shows the CEGB design safety criteria for
accidental releases and exposures to the public / 1 7 / .            It correlates the
total    permissible    frequency   per  reactoryear     with    the  whole    body    dose
equivalent .     A value of 100 mSv ( 10 rem ) is considered as lower limit at
which consideration should be given to the countermeasure of evacuation .
        As tritiated water ( HTO ) is more readily absorbed by human tissue and
therefore more hazardous than gaseous HT , the permissible concentration of
HTO in     air is much smaller ( factor 25000 ) than that of HT .      If tritiated gas
is released into the environment it will subsequently convert to HTO ( order
of V% per day ). In making estimates for the radiation dose it is therefore
common use but conservative ,        to assume that all the atmospheric tritium
release to the environment is in the form of tritiated water . Tritium in the
aqueous effluent is already in the form of HTO . The whole life ( 50 a )
committed dose equivalent from intake of tritiated water ( inhalation or
ingestion ) is taken according to ICRP 30 / 1 8 / to be 17 Sv/TBq ( 64 rem/Ci ).
3.2.2    Radiation doses from routine émissions
         The annual routine atmospheric emission of treated gaseous effluents
from a FCTR is likely to contain about 777 TBq ( 21000 Ci ) of HTO , 18.5 GBq
 ( 0.5 Ci ) of activation products ( namely Fe , Mn , Co ) and negligible quantities
of Cl 4 and Ar4l . This discharge is expected to be through a 100 m stack to
achieve k high degree of dilution in the atmosphere . The routine aqueous
emission of radioactive products of 55.5 TBq/a ( 1500 Ci /a ) as HTO , and
0.185 TBq/a (5 Ci / a ) as activation products occurs via the cooling tower
blowdown flow and to an offsite river with a high degree of dilution .
        External doses to exposed individuals result from gamma radiation from
plumes , exposure to contaminated ground surfaces , immersion in contaminated
 air   and   submersion   in  contaminated  water .      Internal    doses   result     from
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 41 .
inhalation of air , ingestion of contaminated food and water .           It is assumed
in the dose calculations that individuals are exposed 1 0016 of the time to the
contaminated air and ground surface , and that all food consumed is from the
locality . Maximum conservative annual doses calculated for the MEI living at
about 1 km from the stack , is about 0.015 mSv/ a ( 1.5 mrem/ a ). ( 0.0065 raSv/ a
( 0.65 mrem/a ) from atmospheric HT0 , 0.004 mSv/ a ( 0.4 mrem/a ) from atmospheric
activation products , and 0.004 mSv/a ( 0.4 mrem/a ) from aqueous release ).
This is about 1 % of the average dose burden by natural background
irradiation , being 1 to 2 mSv/a ( 100 to 200 mrem/a ).
      The collective dose of the local population living in the area within 50
                                     6                                            2
km radius from the plant ( 2.4x10 persons at a density of 300 persons/ kni ) is
calculated to be about 0.3 man Sv/a ( 30 man rem/a ) , about equally from HT0
and activation products .     The average whole body dose for the general local
                   -4
public is then 10     mSv/ a ( 0.01 mrem/a ).
       For a fusion powered world economy with 2000 fusion reactors all over
the world , each routinely releasing the above activity of tritium , the global
                                         -3
average dose to man would be below 10         mSv/ a ( 0.1 mrem/ a ).
3.2.3    Radiation doses from accidental releases
Tritium
        The possible accidental releases from a FCTR to the surroundings are
still uncertain but are hypothesized with moderate conservative assumptions .
As the reference source term for a hypothetical accident a release of 200 g
tritium as HTO in a 30 min discharge from a stack of 100 m is assumed . The
dose pathways are skin absorption and inhalation .                The outcome is much
dependent on wind velocity distribution and distinction between dry and wet
deposition ( rain reduces the skin and inhalation dose rate ).               For worst
weather conditions ( Pasquill type B ) the maximum dose as calculated for MEI
is 2.4 mSv ( 0.24 rem ), at 700 m from the stack . For other weather conditions
the maximum dose will be 0.5 to 0.7 mSv ( 0.05 to 0.07 rem ) at distances of 5
to 15 km .
       A hypothetical release of 200 g tritium as HTO from the building roof
( release height 20 m ) would cause (at 1 km distance , under worst weather
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             42 .
conditions and dry deposition ), a maximum dose of 60 to 80 mSv (6 to 8 rem ),
which would not disrupt society in the immediate surrounding . These values
are within the limits of 50 to 150 mSv (5 to 15 rem ) accepted by the
licensing authorities for abnormal events of low probability .
       Similar results were recently obtained from worst-case analyses for the
US conceptual design MARS ( Mirror Advanced Reactor Study ) / 1 9 / .       Assuming
ground level release of 50 g tritium ( HTO ), which is defined to be the total
vulnerable inventory in MARS , results in a maximum off-site dose of less than
0.04 Sv (4 rem ).       Even if an additional 200 g of HTO were released , the
maximum off-site dose would still be less than 0.25 Sv ( 25 rem ), the present
NRC limit for emergency releases .
          The above mentioned values assuming worst case conditions could be
compared with measured and evaluated doses of a real accidental release of
about 50 g of tritium gas from a Savannah River Plant exhaust stack ( 60 m ) to
the atmosphere over a period of about four minutes / 20 /. Measurements of
tritium offplant indicated that less than 1 ^ of the tritium was in oxide
form , and the remaining 99J in the much less radiotoxic gaseous form .            A
maximum potential dose to a person ( from inhalation and skin absorption ) at
the puff centerline on the plant boundary was calculated to be 0.0014 mSv
( 0.14   mrera ),  less   than   1$  of  the  annual   dose   received from  natural
radioactivity .
Activated structural material
          The evaluation of the quantity of accidentally " mobilised " erosion
products leads to a few        cubic centimeters of activated first wall material
which may be released to       the environment . The corresponding dose rate , even
in the case of the less        suitable material AISI 316 , will be much less than
the dose rate due to the       release of 200g tritium which may occur in the same
sequence of accident events .
3.3 -   Waste
        Two categories of radioactive waste will be produced in a fusion power
plant :
     low and medium level waste arising from the processing systems ( i.e. fuel
    cycle and     coolant   purification systems )   and   from decontamination and
    maintenance operations ;
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                43 .
-• high level waste (more than 3-7 TBq/m^ = 100 Ci /m^) derived from
    disassembly   and  periodic    replacement     of parts   of   the  inner nuclear
    structure ( mainly first wall and blanket segments ).
         The wet and dry low and medium level wastes ( containing tritium and
activation products ) are of the same nature and have a somewhat higher volume
( 900m with an activity of 44.4 TBq = 1200 Ci ) than the waste streams from a
fission power plant , but the contaminants have shorter half-lives and
therefore become inactive much sooner .          The waste management and disposal
strategies as developed for fission reactor plants may be applied , providing
that sufficient tritium recovery /removal and tritium immobilization is
applied to these wastes .        After waste treatment and packaging near-surface
burial is permitted .
        Handling and treatment of dismantled blanket segments may involve more
complex procedures because of their volume , weight and activation level .          If
AISI-316 is used as structural material , in the short term the management is
comparable with that for - spent fuel elements of a LWR ( light water reactor ).
After an initial cool down period tritium ., breeder material and some other
valuable    elements  with   low   specific activity may be separated for        later
reprocessing and re-use .        The remaining highly active structures will be
compacted , fragmented , detritiated and conditioned for intermediate storage
/ 21 /.    After  the   decay  heat    becomes  negligible  ( and depending on the
composition of the materials         involved it takes from a few years to many
decades ) the waste can be classified , recovered for recycling or transported
to final repository .
         Assuming AISI-316 as structural material ( large experience exists on
this material due to its use in fission reactor plants ) the first wall and
parts of the blanket structural wastes will need a deep geological deposit .
AISI-316 however is not well suited for fusion uses .            Therefore for fusion
power plants other structural materials will be developed .             As an example
fig . 3 shows the neutron induced activity for these advanced materials , as
compared to AISI-316 , as a function of time . According to present rules for
waste disposal ,    the AMCR type of steels ( austenite , without Co and Mo ,
reduced Ni content ) could be deposited at the surface ( Surface Land Burial )
after a time of 30 to 100 years .             For V-Cr refractory materials ( e.g.
V15Cr5Ti ) the picture is even more optimistic . In these cases , however , the
question of impurities arises ,        which could make a significant contribution
to long-term activity .
 ---pagebreak---                r-1!                        i * i k i A i M * i * ■
          10'2 ––____                              ____ι
cS
  E
  o
 \
  cr
 CD
                :
          1010 _\ _\j__:
                                       p\~r“-1
 "o
   $
                __ΙΙΙΙΙΏΓΙΙΖ                                  \
   in
          10» -L^l -
   c
   >>
    >
               _mw
   o
    a     106             - AISI-316AISI-316                   |      X         X
  T3
    a)                    - -       AMCR-33                                       -
    a
  ■a
    "D
    c
                I         - V15Cr5TiV15Cr5Ti        -V-]
          io 4 _|_
    c
    o
  "5
    a;
  Z
             ?      1M        1H  1d     30d
                                         30d    1y
                                                1y               10 2      10 4
          1° L^L,-^               ^                , . V. . , V , v , V , ,y I
               10 1
                  \
                         10 3     10 5     10 7             10 9      10 11       10
                          Time after shut-down [ s ]
     Fig 3 : Neutron induced activity of FCTR first wall
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            45 .
      In conclusion , with a suitable research and development effort , one can
expect that the wastes from fusion should not require deep geological
disposal but simpler near-surface land burial would be sufficient .         Non-
structural materials such as solid breeder materials ( e.g. lithium oxide ) may
be recycled after a few days . LiPb , however , will not satisfy the recycling
conditions due to the high residual activity of the Pb impurities .
3.4  Other sources of hazard
       Potential additional hazards for the workers inside the plant and the
men near the site are of various kinds .         However , no difficulties are
expected in conforming to existing guidelines .
       Sources of direct radiation originate from holes in the shield ( e.g
penetrations for diagnostics ), leakage of neutrons through the shield and
permeated tritium ,   from the activation of the building atmosphere and from
maintenance , repair and replacement operations .   No detailed estimates exist
of such occupational doses , but designs can be realized to keep them below
permissible levels . The external radiation at the site boundary can be made
as low as desired by appropriate shielding design .
      Exposure to high magnetic fields will not be of concern .     There is no
evidence that long exposure to the expected fields of 0.05 Tesla in the
reactor hall constitute an occupational hazard .       It is not likely to be
difficult to make the design guidelines of FCTR conform to presently existing
laboratory rules concerning long term exposure to magnetic fields . The same
can be said for the exposure to radio frequency radiation from the proposed
RF heating systems and from the plasma .
      Although the fuel cycle is an integral part of the plant , transport of
some tritium quantities outside the plant are foreseen ( e.g. to start-up new
reactors ).  The present regulations concerning tritium transport and shipping
are so stringent that     tritium release  from the   transport flasks to the
ambient is practically nil in both normal and abnormal conditions .
 ---pagebreak--- it .   DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL
          Work is under way to further reduce the already small environmental
impact     of   fusion   as   derived    from  todays   technologies .    Considerable
development potentials exist in the following areas :
- limitation of waste quantities by improving life time of first wall and
     blanket components ,
- reduction of activation by choice of modified steels containing less nickel
     and molybdenum ,
- reduction of activation          by   choice   of  new  structural   materials  ( low
     activation materials ),
- decrease of       tritium   inventory   in  the plant   by appropriate choices of
     materials and processes ,
- reprocessing of blanket materials .
         In the long term other fusion reactions than D-T like D-D or D-He3 are
much more attractive        from  the   radioactivity hazard    point  of view .    The
reactor would also be substantially simplified because there would be no need
for a breeding blanket . Even if the feasibility of these cycles is far from
being proved , these features represent a stimulating challenge for the long
term issue of fusion .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                           47 .
5.   CONCLUSIONS
        Fusion as an energy source is based on nuclear reactions and therefore
the main hazard to the public is due to the presence of radioactivity .        The
sources of radioactivity are tritium and the neutron- induced transmutations
of the plasma surrounding structure .
       Magnetic fusion reactors appear to have very important intrinsic safety
features , such as :
- the    impossibility   of  an  uncontrolled ,   self-started and  self-sustained
   nuclear power runaway ,
- the absence of long-lived volatile radioactive materials ,
- the relatively low power density in the first wall and blanket structure
   during operation ,
- the moderate afterheat at shutdown ,
- the closing of the tritium cycle on reactor site .
       The levels of radioactive effluents in normal operation will match the
regulations in Europe and elsewhere and hence these effluents will not be a
hazard to the public .    It is worth noting that the technical potential exists
for further reducing the emission to virtually insignificant levels .          The
radioactive    waste   generated  by   fusion   reactors   will be  quantitatively
comparable to fission reactors , but qualitatively it will be much less of a
potential hazard .
         The analysis of volatile inventories released after major technical
failures leads to the conclusion that the radioactive effluents ( mainly
tritium ) in such cases would have a very low impact on the lives and the
health of the surrounding population .        Therefore , in no case would fusion
cause a major disruption of normal life in the community outside the reactor
site .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                       48 .
;6 . REFERENCES
 /1/     INTOR Phase Two A , Part II - Panel Proceedings Series , IAEA , Vienna ,
         1986 .
 /2/     NET Status Report .       NET report 51 , EU - FU/XII - 80/81 / 51 , December 1985 .
 / 3/    W.R. Spears ; DEMO and FCTR Parameters , NET Report Nr . 41 ,
         EUR -EU/XII - 361/85/41 , August 1985 .
 / 4/    STARFIRE - A Commercial Tokamak Fusion Power Plant Study .               Argonne
         National Laboratory Report , ANL/FPP - 80 - 1 , September 1980 .
 / 5/    I.R. Brearley ; The Hazard to Man of Accidental Releases of Tritium .                SRD
         R 331 , March 1985 , SRD-UKAEA .
 / 6/    F. Luykx , G. Fraser ; The Environmental Tritium Inventory .                   European
         Seminar on the risks from tritium exposure , MOL , 22-24 November , 1982 ,
         EUR 9065 EN .
 / 7/    G. Casini , C. Ponti , P. Rocco ; Environmental Aspects of Fusion Reactors ,
         1985 . Technical Note I. 04 . B1 . 85.156 . JRC , Ispra , December 1985 .
 / 8/    INTOR Phase Two A , Part II .          Criticai Issues , Voi . II , EURFUBRU / XII -
         1 33 / 85 / EDV10 , Aprii 1985 , Brussels .
 /9/     P. Dinner , M. Chazalon , M. Iseli ; Tritium Handling on NET : Requirements',
         Design Approaches and Development Issues . 14th SOFT , Avignon 1986 . ;
                                                                                            i
 / 10 / J.B. Cannon ;        Background Information and Technical Basis for Assessment
         of Environmental Implications of Magnetic Fusion Energy .
         Department of Energy Report , D0E / ER-0170 , August 1983 .
 / 1 1 / R . Hancox , W. Redpath , Fusion Reactors - Safety and Environmental
         Impact .      CLM-P750 , May 1985 , Culham Laboratory .
 /1 2/ Proceedings IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on Environmental and Safety
         Aspects of Fusion . Held 17-21 October , 1983 , Ispra , to be published .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                   49 .
/ 1 3/ M.S. Kazimi ; Safety Aspects of Fusion , Review paper .
        Nuclear Fusion 24^ ( 1984 ) 11 , p. 1461-1483 .
/ 1 4 / T.S. Drolet , K.Y. Wong , P.J. Dinner ; Canadian Experience with Tritium -
        the Basis of a new Fusion Project .          Nuclear Technology/Fusion Vol . 5 ,
        January 1984 .
/1 5/ J.L. Anderson ; The Status of Tritium Technology Development for Magnetic
        Fusion Energy . Nuclear Technology/ Fusion 4^ ( 1983 ) 2 , 75-82 .
/ 1 6 / Recommendation of the International Commission                  on   Radiological
        Protection , CRP Publication 26 , Pergamon Press ,, 1977 .
/ 1 7 / Safety Assessment Principles for Nuclear Power Reactors . Nil .
        April 1979 .
/ 1 8 / International Commission on Radiological Protection ( ICRP ) Publication
        30 , Supplement to Part 1 , Annals of the ICRP 3 ( 1-4 ), Pergamon , Oxford .
/ 1 9 / S.A.     Fetter ;    Radiological Hazards   of   Fusion   Reactors :  Models   and
        Comparison .      University of California , Berkley , PH.D. 1985 .
/ 20/ W.L. Marter ; Environmental Effect :? of a Tritium Gas Release from the
        Savannah River Plant on May 2 , 1974 .          DP-1369 , UC-11 , Savannah River
        Laboratory , November 1974 .
/ 21 / K. Broden , A. Hultgren , G. Olsson , H. Djerassi , P. Giroux , P. Guetat ,
        J-L Rouyer ; Fusion Waste Management - Safety and Environment Studies
        1983-84 - European Fusion Technology Programme , NET Report EUR-FU / XII -
        361 / 85 / 35 , 1985 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                 50 .
T.   GLÛSSARY
Uni ts
SV     sievert           ( equivalent dose )
rem                            "             (1 rem = 0.01 Sv )
Bq     becquerel         ( activity )
Ci     curie             "               (1 Ci = 3.7X10 10 Bq )
W      watt              ( power )
eV     electronvolt      ( energy )          (1 eV = 1.6x10 ^ J
A      ampere            ( electric current )
T      tesla             ( magnetic field strength )
s      second
min    minute
h      hour
d      day
a      year
g      gram
1      liter
m      meter
ppm    parts per million
multiplication factors :
                                   -3
                         m     10
                                   3
                         k     10
                                   6
                         M     10
                                   9
                         G     10
                                   12
                         T     10
 ---pagebreak---                                                           51
Abbreviations
ALARA         as low as reasonably achieveable
ALI           allowable limit of intake
ΒΗΡ           biological hazard potential
CEC           Commission of the European Communities
CEGB          Central Electricity Generating Board ( UK )
D             deuterium
DEMO          demonstration reactor
D-D           deuterium deuter i urn
D -T          deuterium- tritium
FCTR          First Commercial-sized Tokamak Reactor
HWR           heavy water reactor
ICRP          International Commission on Radiological Protection
INTOR         International Tokamak Reactor
LWR           Light Water Reactor
MARS          Mirror Advanced Reactor Study
MEI           most exposed individual
MPC           maximum permissible concentration
NET           Next European Torus
NII           Nuclear Installations Inspectorate ( UK )
NRC           Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( USA )
R+D           research and development
T             tritium
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                    52
           THE ECONOMIC PROSPECTS OF NUCLEAR FUSION - A 1986 VIEWPOINT
W.R. Spears            The NET Team , c / o Max Planck Institut fur Plasmaphysik ,
                      Boltzmannstra&e 2 , D-8046 Garching bei Munchen .
R . Bünde              The NET Team , c / o Max Planck Institut fur Plasmaphysik ,
                      BoltzmannstraBe 2 , D-8046 Garching bei Munchen .
G   Grieger           Max-Planck Institut für Plasmaphysik , Boltzmannstraße 2 ,
                       D-8046 Garching bei München .
P.E. Grohnheit         Riso National Laboratory , DK-4000 Roskilde
J.  Pericart           EDF - Centre des Renardières , BP No.1 ,
                       77250 Moret sur Loing , France .
                                       CONTENTS
0.          SUMMARY                                                            54
1 .         INTRODUCTION                                                       57
2.          REVIEW OF PUBLISHED REACTOR COSTS AND COSTING STUDIES              58
3.          GENERATION COST SENSITIVITY                                        69
4.          DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL FOR FUSION                                   78
5.          COMPARISON WITH OTHER POWER SYSTEMS                                82
6.          CONCLUSIONS                                                        91
7.          REFERENCES                                                         92
8.          GLOSSARY OF TERMS & DEFINITIONS                                    98
 ---pagebreak--- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
         The authors would particularly like to thank Dr R          Hancox ( UKAEA ) for
carrying out the research and contributing the basic text of section 2 .
        The authors are also very grateful for the comments and suggestions of
Drs    C.M. Braams ( FOM ), B   Brunei li ( ENEA ), G. Casini ( JRC   Ispra ), J. Darvas
( CEC ), A. Gibson ( JET ), H.H. Hennies ( KfK ) , G. Kessler ( KfK ), A. Malein ( CEC ),
D   Palumbo ( CEC ), R S. Pease ( UKAEA ), F. Prevot ( CEA ), J. Raeder ( NET ) and R.
Toschi ( NET ).
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 54
0.   SUMMARY
          This report summarises todays best estimates of the cost of power
generation from nuclear fusion       These estimates can only be rough since the
earliest commercialisation date is well into the , 21st century and since
development up to now has concentrated on making fusion work , not in making it
cheap . An understanding of the technical and economic feasibility of fusion
will not exist until at least the next generation of experiments , like NET in
Europe , have been operated .
       Despite these qualifications      in the last ten years several conceptual
design studies of power producing fusion reactors have been undertaken .      Such
studies are necessary since they show where fusion development is heading
thus guiding both plasma physics and reactor technology development programmes
along   reasonable  paths .   These   studies  produce estimates of   the cost of
constructing the reactors or of generating electricity , which indicate that
the economic viability of fusion is a possible ,        but by no means certain ,
outcome of the present research programme .
       For tokamaks ( the most advanced confinement method ), the direct capital
cost   in   these studies varies over     a factor of nearly 3 while for other
confinement schemes the range      is a factor of 5 .     This indicates the wide
variety of possible methods for tackling the technological problems of fusion
and the uncertainty over the most desirable design solutions .         These costs
apply to fully commercialised designs , not the first device of a series .
Usually the tenth device of its kind is costed to take advantage of the
economic benefit of the gain with experience of manufacturing and construction
know-how .
         As an alternative to cost in these studies        it is also possible to
estimate the energy expended in all the processes involved in manufacturing ,
constructing and operating the power station .        Such studies show an energy
expenditure in constructing a fusion station twice that for a fission plant .
However for fission , considerable energy must be expended in producing fuel
for the plant during its lifetime whereas for fusion this item is minuscule .
The apparent fusion disadvantage is more than outweighed by this advantage .
      As part of the design definition of NET , cost methods suitable for first -
of-a kind devices have also recently been evolved .      These indicate the levels *j
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                        55 .
of cost to be expected early in the deployment of commercial-Scale fusion
reactors when the manufacturing and construction design base is still growing .
Such costing methods rely heavily on design solutions proposed for NET . These
may not be the ones chosen , for technical and economic reasons , when
commercial reactors are finally designed . For a prototype commercial-sized
reactor of 1200 MW        ( sent out ) typical of present-day plant sizes , with
plasma physics only relying on a plausible extrapolation of the results from
present-day experiments , the estimated generation cost is about 2-3 times that
for   thermal  fission stations beginning operation          in  1995 .     Under  series
production of fully commercialised designs ( e.g. the tenth device after the
prototype ), this gap can be significantly reduced or even closed . In addition ,
a considerable reduction in the cost could be achieved by a significant
increase in the ability to confine plasma and reduction in the unit cost of
design solutions , with only a modest increase in levels of power sent out .
         The present fusion programmes worldwide are geared towards solving
problems of scientific principle .       In the past , they havfe almost exclusively
been directed at increasing the understanding of plasma physics but , as a
consequence   of . physics    progress ,  are  now   increasingly     concentrating       on
technological feasibility .      The target of these programmes is to produce a
working   demonstration    power   reactor .    Such   a   device   would    need   to   be
technically improved and simplified to arrive at a desirable and economically
competitive   end  product .     The  combination   of   several   of   the   innovations
proposed up to now might result in substantial economic benefits .               Most are
aimed at increasing plasma power density using theoretically feasible plasma
physics and advanced superconductors . In this respect device compactness has
a part to play , but only to the extent that technological design margins are
not eroded and the good safety characteristics of the fusion power plant
compromised . Many proposals , whose benefits are impossible even to estimate
today    are   not  just    applicable    to  tokamaks    but   to   toroidal    magnetic
confinement generally .
      By the time fusion power is commercially available , coal ,, fission breeder
and solar photovoltaic power stations will be the likely competitors , ^olar
photovoltaic power ' costs are predicted to be a factor of 2.5-4 higher than
thermal fission . Coal , whose present electricity generation cost in baseload
is up to 60% higher than thermal fission plants , is expected to maintain , or
even increase , this cost disadvantage . Fast breeders , which at present are
linked by their fuel cycle to thermal fission stations and are only just
 ---pagebreak---                                                                           56 .
beginning their evolution from the prototype commercial - sized device , although
initially ( in the first-of its kind device ) expected to have power costs up to
100$ higher than that from thermal fission , are predicted to attain a much
more competitive generation cost compared with thermal fission , when they are
introduced on a full commercial scale .   Predictions for thermal fission depend
on the economic conditions prevailing in the middle of the next century and
extend over a factor of 2 ( Even for systems starting operation in 1995 the
cost for thermal fission can only be predicted within a factor of 1.5 ).
Fusion power thus fits alongside these estimates and from this point of view
should be able    to penetrate   the market   in  the  future as a   large scale
generating technology .
      There are also a number of somewhat intangible but potentially beneficial
effects of electricity generation with fusion ,      in addition to those items
considered in present costings . These include security of fuel availability
( deuterium and lithium are spread widely and plentifully on earth ), low fuel
price dependence , an internal fuel cycle ( extensive off-site reprocessing
systems and their associated logistics are . in principle , unnecessary and ,
even if needed for economic reasons , are much less than in fission ), the
potential for reduced waste hazard ( through materials optimised for fusion ),
and reduced scale of possible accidents .   To what extent these items will have
an economic impact and add to the desirability of fusion power is impossible
to estimate until more progress is made .
         The development cost for fusion power is a tiny fraction of todays
expenditure for energy supply which , given the virtually inexhaustable nature
of the fuels and their worldwide distribution , and the potential for high
environmental acceptability , should produce a highly desirable payoff .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            57 .
1 . INTRODUCTION
      The aim of this report is to describe todays view of the cost of the end
result from the fusion development programme , in so far as it can presently be
quantified . This is a difficult task since its earliest commercialisation
date is well into the next century , after a considerable development and
proving programme . In todays position we are still far from the commercial
end product .     Any predictions made here must therefore be understood as
representing a considerable range around the quoted values . Furthermore , the
programme of development up to now has concentrated on making fusion work , not
making it cheap , and there is likely to be considerable improvement in the
cost predictions once there is a greater understanding of what needs to be
done technologically .      This will not come about until the next generation of
experiments , like NET in Europe , have been operated .
        The report reviews what has been said in the past about fusion costs
( section 2 ) and describes the sensitivity of generation cost to assumptions in
section 3 .   for f irst - of - a - kind tokamaks . The potential for improving on
present conceptions of what makes a viable reactor is discussed in section 4
and fusion is compared with its competitors in section 5 . A full glossary of
terms and definitions is given in section 8 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                    58 .
2.  REVIEW OF PUBLISHED REACTOR COSTS AND COSTING STUDIES
          In the last ten years several conceptual design studies of power
producing fusion reactors or fusion based power stations have been published .
Many of these studies have included estimates of the cost of constructing the
reactors or of generating electricity ,      and  these published estimates are
reviewed in the following section .
2.1 Capital costs
         Direct capital costs per unit output for most published commercial
reactor designs are shown in table 2.1 .       The direct capital costs are the
major contributor to the total cost and therefore form a convenient basis for
comparing different designs .   Table 2.1 also shows the relative direct capital
cost of each design normalized to Starfire and adjusted for inflation .                 ( In
the case of the Culham Mk II reactor , the standardized exchange rate defined
by Ashby / 22 / was used to convert the cost to dollars .)
      A number of conclusions may be drawn from the information in the table :
2.1.1   Historical variations
        Early studies such as the Princeton tokamak reactor of 1974 and the
University of Wisconsin tokamak reactors ( UWMAK I and II ) of 1975 , gave lower
direct capital costs than the more recent NUWMAK and Starfire tokamak studies
completed in the period 1979-80 , this being due to the more realistic physics
and engineering bases of the recent studies .
2.1.2   Design uncertainties
      Costs based on recent studies still show considerable variations .           Whilst
the turbine and electrical plant can be costed accurately on the basis of
manufacturing experience , the cost of the fusion reactor itself is uncertain
both because of unresolved physics issues and because of novel manufacturing
requirements . This is illustrated in table 2.2 which compares the costs of
the reactor plant with the total station cost for some of the power stations
listed in table 2.1 .     The ratio of reactor plant cost to total direct cost
varies from 37% to 76% .     Further causes of variation include the effects of
scale ,  and   whether  the reactor  is costed as the      f irst - of - a - kind or the
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             59 .
benefits    of  previoun  production  experience  are  assumed .   For  the  above
reasons , comparisons with existing power systems such a:j fission reactors can
bo misleading .
2.1.3    Alternatives to the BT-tokamak
        Table 2.1 also shows estimated direct capital costs for several power
stations based on plasma confinement systems other than the DT-tokamak .         In
general the plasma physics basis for these reactor designs is less well
developed than for the tokamak . Within the present accuracy , all the costs
are of the 3ame order as for Starfire .
2.1.4    Alternative fuels
       Only one study , Wildcat , has been based on a fuel cycle other than D-T .
This design , based on a D-D fuel cycle , is conceptually similar to Starfire
but requires substantially better plasma confinement in view of the lower
reaction cross-section .    As a result the capital cost and coat of electricity
are nearly twice those of Starfire .
2.2 . Çost senaitivity
          Several studies / 23-29 / have investigated how the cost of a fusion
reactor varies with one or more parameters ,        both to assess the relative
importance of that parameter or to establish its optimum value . These studies
have utilized both simplified analytical models / 23 , 24 , 25 / which provide
insight into the inter-relationship between parameters , and more detailed
computer models / 26 , 27 /. The main results are as follows :-
2.2.1    Physics parameters
       The major physics parameters affecting the cost of a tokamak reactor are
the ratio ( g ) of the plasma pressure confined to the magnetic pressure
applied , and the plasma current for a given raagentic field ( i.e. the inverse
rotational transform of the field lines , q - see glossary ).    A plasma pressure
of approaching 10% relative to the toroidal magnetic field pressure is
desirable , but recent predictions of the physical limit are somewhat below
this level .      A high current for a given field is essential , leading to
requirements for plasma shaping .        By contrast , plasma confinement times
predicted in devices of the scale of a commercial reactor appear adequate .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             60 .
2.2.2    Engineering parameters
       For unit sizes above 600 MW e , the unit cost of a fusion reactor follows
the two-thirds power law common in engineering production .        Larger units are
therefore more economic , but if too large there may be limits of acceptance .
The first wall power loading has a strong influence on unit costs and there is
an optimum value which is a compromise between the desire to reduce general
reactor material quantities as far as possible , without making the design too
complex or incurring penalties from too frequent maintenance periods .           This
optimum is usually in the range 3 to 6 MW/ m , depending on the predicted life
of the wall before radiation damaged material must be replaced .          In smaller
unit sizes , the total thickness of the blanket and shield on the inboard side
of  toroidal    reactors  significantly   affects  costs  because    it  limits   the
achievable     wall  loading .    The   peak   magnetic   field    achievable    with
superconducting coils ,   or supportable with practical structures ,       is not a
major constraint in a tokamak unless the plasma pressure ratio , 6 is low .
2.2.3    Compact reactors
      One simple way of comparing the economics of alternative power sources is
through the power produced per unit mass of the system . The cost of many
power sources is roughly related to their mass , since variations due to
special materials of complex design do not predominate , and for this reason
compact systems are economically attractive .        For fusion reactors a rough
target for the mass power density of 100 kWe/ tonne has been suggested / 30/,
and several designs of compact reactors exist approaching       this value as shown
in figure 2.1 / 31 /. In this respect the Reversed Field Pinch has an advantage
because of its high plasma pressure ratio ( f5 - 25% ), whereas for tokamaks only
designs with non-superconducting magnets to allow high-field operation can
approach this mass power density .        This question is considered again in
section 3-
        As already indicated in table 2.2 the ratio of reactor plant cost to
total direct cost is significantly higher for a fusion reactor than for a PWR .
Figure 2.2 shows a correlation between this ratio and the unit capital cost ,
which suggests that the estimated capital cost of a fusion reactor should be
reduced by a factor 2 to compete with a present day PWR . This reduction
corresponds to a factor 11 in mass utilization . These conclusions , however ,
take no account of the low fuel costs of fusion which may considerably reduce
thes| factors .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               61 .
£.3 £l$,efcri.city generating costa
      ift several studies the direct capital costs have been used as the basis
of generating cost estimates , as quoted in table 2.3 .    These are dealt with
more fully in section 5 .
2.4  Energy accounting
        An alternative to considering the electricity generating costs is to
calculate the energy expended in all the processes which are involved in the
manufacture , construction and operation of the system .             This energy
expenditure includes mining and refining the raw materials - including the
fuels - as well as the production , transport , and erection of the plant and
buildings .      One advantage of energy accounting  is that   it should not be
influenced by relative wage and price changes .         Another very important
advantage in relation to energy accounting for power stations is that the
ratio of energy expended to the energy generated during the life of the
station is an easily understood and convenient measure of the value of the
project .    The major difficulty in the assessment is the calculation of the
energy expenditure in each activity , which is often poorly defined and is in a
Variety Of different forms . Conversely the payback time , in spite of being
widely    used ,   is a misleading measure  because it  is highly sensitive      to
arbitrary assumptions in its definition .
      Some results of a recent detailed study by Biinde / 32 , 33 » 34 /, in which
two fusion power plants were compared with two LWR fission reactor power
plants , are given in table 2.4 . The energy expenditure on construction of a
fusion power station is a faetor of two greater than that for a PWR station ,
whieh is consistent with capital cost estimates . The overall energy input for
the fission station , however , is significantly increased by the energy
required to provide fuel both for the start of operation and for life-time
refuellihg .      The figures quoted in table 2.4 are the most optimistic for
fission and the most pessimistic for fusion of the cases considered .            An
earlier study by TSoulfanidis / 35/ gave similar results , shown in table 2.5 ,
but it may be tooted that the fusion energy inputs were calculated on the basis
of the W&ttK-IlI which is Seen in table 2.1 to be the most expensive of the
American toksmak reactor designs .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               62 .
2.5   Discussion
       In discussing the existing literature of fusion economics it must firstly
be stated that all cost estimates are based on outline designs which assume
favourable solutions to outstanding physics questions . Whilst the cost of
individual components can be estimated from other engineering applications ,
not all details of the components are known , and so the costs quoted here are
only the best possible indications at the present state of fusion development .
By comparison , other energy systems such as fission reactor based power
stations are well defined and can be much more accurately costed , although
still dependent on financial assumptions and resource availabilities .
      Sensitivity studies have allowed present reactor designs to be optimised ,
within the constraints of present understanding .        The extent to which changes
in parameters could lead to lower capital costs is well understood .         In terms
of physical limitations , the plasma pressure ratio (5 is most important .          In
terms of engineering constraints ,       any factor which permits a higher power
density will be important .        Present designs are therefore tending to more
compact reactors , with increased emphasis on materials properties and high
magnetic fields .
      There have been very few new commercial tokamak reactor design studies in
the   past   five   years , not  only   because of   the   present  emphasis on next
generation devices      such as NET or     INTOR , but because there have been no
significant changes in physics understanding since the Starfire study which
would    change   the  engineering concept and hence       the estimated cost .     In
contrast to the tokamak situation , there have been several recent studies of
reactors based on other confinement geometries .         Of these , the tandem mirror
( MARS )  study suggests that there is no obvious economic advantage .             The
Reversed Field Pinch , however , has the potential to be the basis of a more
compact , and hence cheaper , reactor but has a weaker physics basis .             The
stellarator has been the basis of several studies , which indicate costs in the
same range as for the tokamak .
      This viewpoint has not covered inertially based reactor systems / e.g. 20 ,
21 /, for which much of the target physics is classified information and for
which the cost of the driver systems is very uncertain . Nor has it covered
fission-fusion hybrid systems / e.g. 36 / for which reactor designs are less
well developed , and costs depend to a large extent on the value of the fissile
fuel produced and on the cost of safety for this complicated system .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                    63
                     TABLE 2.1 : SUMMARY OF REACTOR STUDIES
                                                              Spécifie                Relative
Year of     Year of MW      Name                              Direct                  capital
                       e
publication costing net                                       Capital                 cost
                                                              cost                    ( corrected
                                                              ( $ / kW e )               for
                                                              ( in year               inflation )
                                                              of costing )
                     DT-Tokamaks :
1 97 ^      1974    2030    PPLP /1 /                                       433       0.4 r,
197b        1974    1474    UWMAK-I / 2 /                                   723       0.78
1975        1975    1709    UWMAK-II / 3 /                                  706       0.69
1976        1975    1985    UWMAK-III / 4 /                                1154       1.14
1976        1976    2500    Culham I 75 /                                   750       0.70
1979        1978     660    NUWMAK / 6 /                                   1279     _ 1 . 05
1980        1977    1200    Culham II B / 7,8,9 /                          1442       1 . 28
1980        1980    1200    Starfire / 10 /                                1439       1
                     Others ■
                                                                                ■·
                                                                                       (
1978        1976     492    Standard mirror / 1 1 /                        4510       4.22
1979        1979     750    RFPR ( Reversed field pinch ) / 12/            1104       0.84
 1980       1980    1530    WITAMIR ( Tandem mirror ) / 1 3 /              1348       0.94
 1981       1980     812    Wildcat ( D-D tokamak ) / 14 /                 2725       1.89
 1981       1981    1214    EBTR ( Bumpy torus ) /1 5 /                    1737       1.14
 1982       1982    1882    UWT0R-M ( Stellarator ) /1 6 /                 1422       0.88
 1983       1980    1660    MRS-IIA ( Stellarator ) 717 /                  1482       1.03
 1983       1980    1302    MRS-IIB ( Stellarator ) /1 7 /                 1265       0.88
 1984       1980    1200    MARS ( Tandem mirror ) / 18 /                  1970       1.37
 1985       1980    1000    CRFPR 20 ( Compact RFP ) / 19 /                1111       0.77
 1985       1984    3784    Hiball II ( Heavy- ion beam ) / 20,21 / 1347              0.74
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  64
               TABLE 2.2 : REACTOR PLANT COSTS
            Reactor         Direct    Total    Ratio       Ratio
             ( $M )         capital   capital  Reactor /   Dir . cap ./
                               ( $M )  ( $M )  Dir . cap . Total cap .
PPPL         606               880     1215     0.69        0.72
UWMAK-I      574             1 066     1433     0.54        0.74
UWMAK-II     775             1207      1615     0.64        0.75
UWMAK-III    812             2290               0.35
NUWMAK       534               844     1140     0.63        0.74
Starf ire    969             1727      2400     0.56        0.72
Culham I IB  656               911     1824     0.72        0.50
RFPR         397               828              0.48
WITAMIR     1565             2063      2785     0.76        0.74
Wildcat     1497             2213      3076     0.68        0.72
MRS-IIA     1687             2460      3695     0.69        0.67
MRS-IIB      968             1647      2473     0.59        0.67
EBTR        1426             2109      2872     0.68        0.73
UWTOR-M     1765             261 1     3758     0.68        0.69
MARS        1517             2365      3266     0.64        0.72
CRFPR.20 .   415             1112      1515     0.37        0.73
PWR                                            0.25-0.32
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 65 .
                  TABLE 2.3 : COST OF ELECTRICITY - ( mills-1 980 / kWh )
                               Starfire    CRFPR.20        Mars
Annual capital charge           30.44       22.79          42.56
Operation and maintenance        2.46        4.11           2.63
Component replacement            2.20        1 . 00         0.69
Fuel                             0.04        0.03           0.36
Total                           35.15       27.93          46.24
The annual capital charge is set at 10$ of the total capital cost , in constant ( zero
inflation ) money over a 30 year operating life . Plant availability is different in
each study ( between 75-80$ ).
 ---pagebreak---       TABLE 2.4 : ENERGY INPUT AND OUTPUT OVER 30 YEAR LIFE ( from ref 34 )
                                                           Fusion    Fission
Construction of power plant           ( MWh th /MW e ) +    4082      2160
Construction of fuel installations    ( MWh th / MW e ) +      16      789
                                                                           *
Fuel for first operation              <MWhth/MWe)*              3      399
Fuel for lifetime operation           (MWhtltn
                                                / MW β ) +     87     5554*
Total energy input                    ( MWh tn
                                            . . /MW Θ ) +   4188      8902
Energy generated                      (MWh th. /MW e ) +   6.3x1 0^   6.3x10
Energy gain                                                   150       70
   Assuming centrifuge enrichment of ore with a 0.2% uranium content .
+ MWhth always means thermal energy and/or primary energy equivalent of
   electrical energy , and MWg refers to electrical power sent out .
 ---pagebreak---              TABLE 2.5 ; ENERGY GAINS FOR POWER PLANTS ( from Ref 35 )
                                           EG1       EG2        EG3
Coal Plant                                 5-7       6-9        53-93
PWR ( diffusion enrichment )               3-5       7-5        15
PWR ( centrifuge enrichment )              10        13         80
Fusion plant                                5         7         64
EG1 = Electrical energy out/equivalent thermal energy in .
EG^ = Electrical energy out/ total energy in .
EG^ = Electrical energy out/electrical energy in .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                 68 .
                         -1-1-1-1-1
                    3000 -
               ï
                              P     = 1000
                                       < 000 MW®
               »-               NET
               co
               O                                                                  ЕВТП
               O    aooo -
                    2000                                               usn          A/"
               *-                                                         A --         T.
               O
               UJ
                                                 STAnnnE ^ ■                           À
               K                                                           WITAMin-l
               5
                                 ^"           nFPn         \                            ,
               Z                                           C = flOOHOOIM / P            )
                3   '"“UÎ.A,
                    1000
                         \ CBFPR
                                                           c O. ((.o„.,
                                                                   ~ 30.0
                                                                   ~  30.0 $$ // kg
                                                                                   TH
                                                                                 kg))
                                                                                           -
                         LWH
                         -1-!-1- i-*-5 ,
                                  2            4         β           8           10         1*
                                              FUSION powEn cone
                           MASS UTILIZATION , M / P _„ ( lonno / MWI )
FIGURE 2.1 Specific direct capital cost as a function of mass utilisation in
            the fusion power core ( from reference 31 )-
                               i-1-1-1-1-1-1-r-
                                                                                      /
               ■* 3000
                    3000 -   PNET == 1000
                                       1000 MWt MW®                                 tf
               3=             NET                                                         A
               2y                                                          MSR // p
                                                                           MOI w /
               w                                                               JJ
               y-U)                                                     È
                                                                            jfg
                                                                           AI £
               o                                                        M-?           /
               ° * 000 ~
               O    2000                                             SA /J           /
               t~                   ( 1-nPE /TDC )_
                                    ( 1-ПРЕ / Т0С )                S//**            /
               S                                       LWR        &r               /
               “                     111-nPE
                                       1 - RPE // TDC
                                                  TDC ))          JT              *
               5                            \ FUSION^,
                                                   FUSION^VPR   FPn         wiTAum-1
                                                                            WIT AMIR - 1
               3 1000
                    1000 -                 A -.--^^CnFPR CnFPR
                                    *” LWR
                            A-       EFFECT OF OOIIOLINQ COST OF
                                     REACTOR PLANT EQUIPMENT
                       -I_|_I_I_I_II _                        _I_I_I_I
                                                                     I
                       0     0.1    0.2       0.3   0.4    0.6     0.8     0.7      0.8     0.0
                             REACTOR PLANT EQUIPMENT ( RPE )
                                 TOTAL DIRECT tOSfjTDÔ )
FIGURE  2.2   Specific direct capital cost as a function of the cost ratio
              between reactor plant equipment and total direct cost ( from
              reference 31 •
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             69 .
3.   GENERATION COST SENSITIVITY
        As pointed out in the previous section there have been very few recent
assessments of commercial reactors because of the present emphasis on the next
step in the programme of development .       As part of this work in Europe , an
extensive model of the cost scaling of reactor systems is under development as
a design aid in the choice of NET parameters . This model has been built up
using the expertise gained in the studies reported in section 2 and has now
been extensively reviewed by Motor Columbus Engineers Inc . who have wide
experience of power plant construction worldwide . Modifications suggested by
them have been incorporated in the model as it stands today / 37 /, and it has
been    extended  to  analyse   electricity   generation  costs  along   the     lines
recommended in the UNIPEDE study / 38 /.
       This model is used here as the basis for describing the cost sensitivity
of reactor parameters , since it represents the latest , and therefore hopefully
the most accurate , assessment within Europe of reactor costs for first - of - a-
kind , DT-based tokamaks .    As such , the results reported below should not be
taken to be indicative of reactor costs in a mature industry .         In any case ,
extrapolation of currently perceived NET design solutions into the commercial
reactor regime has low credibility since NET itself will be the test bed for
developing such reactor relevant design solutions .      Inevitably , in all areas ,
both learning in manufacture and improvement in design will also drive costs
down in future devices from levels predicted today .       Furthermore , within the
present modelling ,   no attempt has been made to minimise non-direct costs
( operation and maintenance especially ) to increase commercial acceptability ,
and this results in a further overestimation of fusion costs .
3.1   Generation Cost Usage
       One of the advantages claimed by fusion is that it has low fuel costs to
offset against probably high capital costs .        When comparing the merits of
fusion with its competitors it is therefore essential to consider all costs
incurred from the start of construction to ultimate decommissioning when making
a judgement . This can only be done by the use of generation costs ( G ), also
known as cost of electricity , which properly account for the influence of
capital , operating and maintenance , fuel , decommissioning and interest charges .
The assumptions implicit in the costs reported here are listed in table 3.1 •
Only direct , operation and maintenance , and fuel costs are calculated in
detail , with other non-direct costs amounting to 58$ of D.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                  70 .
3.2    Generation Cost vs. Beta Level and Mass Expenditure
        The plasma pressure ratio , B , can be related to basic Tokamak parameters
by the equation B($ ) = gl ( MA) / a(m)B(T ) where I , a and B are plasma current ,
minor radius and toroidal field respectively and g is a constant known as the
" beta level ".      To minimise the amount of plasma needed for a given output
power , B and hence g must be maximised , particularly , since its square is
proportional to the plasma power density . One of the major efforts in fusion
is therefore to maximise the beta level subject to any other constraints that
might apply .
           For a device of fixed power sent out and beta level there exist an
infinite number of possible designs with different dimensions .         A minimum cost
device can be chosen from this infinite set .         The variation in generation cost
of such minimum cost devices can then be shown as a function of the power sent
out and beta level .       This is done here using parameters predicted by SUPERCOIL
/ 39 / over a wide range of values of power sent out and beta level .             This
analysis / 40 / extends an earlier analysis based on the capital cost only / 41 /.
Figure 3*1 shows the results , relative to the cost of one particular design
point ( the reference point , PCSR-E ( prototype commercial-sized reactor ), is a
1200 MW so device with a value of g ( 3*5 ) consistent with present day
experiments ), indicating a decreasing cost benefit as both beta level and power
sent out are raised but that certain minimum levels of these parameters are
worthwhile attaining .       Also shown is the wall loading that should be achieved
to gain access to the cost minima at each value of power sent out and beta
level .     ( In reality , since cost minima are fairly flat as a function of wall
loading ,     small   reductions  in wall    loading  from  the  values  shown may be
tolerated without much cost increase ).
         Under the stimulus of studies recently carried out in the USA / 30 / the
same results are replotted in figure 3-2 as a function of " mass expenditure "
( ME ) on the fusion power core ( FPC ), i.e. the mass of material required for the
torus ( first wall / blanket/ shield ) , magnets ( toroidal and poloidal field ) and
their respective support structures , divided by the power sent out .             This
variable is equal to the " mass utilization" multiplied by the overall plant
efficiency ( typically 30$ ), and is inversely proportional to the mass power
density ( 100 kW e / tonne = 10 tonnes /MW e ), both these terms having been mentioned
in section 2 . Figure 3»2 also shows absolute generation cost values for these
f irst - of- a- kind stations in 1984 ECU (1 ECU-1984 = 0.822$-1984 ) .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             71 .
                 10 r
       % S        8"                    ^-''^2000
                  6 "                                          '
       ^ 2:
       | | 4-
       ^ o 2- ^
           CD
           <
           CD                            "           600 MWS0
                                                     600 MW,
           “■     0L
                2.0 - \
           I–
                1.5 -     \
          oo
          CD
          (_l
          O
          I–
          <c
                       \                          P,„ = 600 MW
          DC
          LU
          LU
          LD
          LU
          >
          t–
          •<
          LU
          CC
                0.5 -                  –--             2000
                  0 _1_1_1_1_1–
                   0        5       10       15       20       25
                                 BETA LEVEL 'g'
FIGURE 3.1 : Generation cost of minimum-cost devices as a function of beta
              level at different values of power sent out , and the corresponding
              wall loading levels required .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                        72 .
         - 10 Г
       rsj
                         \ 2000
   Z
          E
                ® _ \o 200
   O
   oc
         z:
                 4 -                      600 MW S0
   I–
        a
   r=>
   LU
         •<£.
        CD
   Z
                 0 -
              2.0 -                                                         /
                                                                       // - 20
                                                      TOTAL       //
                                                         \Z/
                                                           V'
                                                                                   xz
                                                                                   IS:
              1.5 -                                     // /                       DC
        I–
        00
                                                      // /
                                                    /' ;     •*
                                                                              - 15 ra
                                                                                   LU
                                                                                   LU
        a
        1   i                                                                       vu
        LD                                         // X
        i–
        ce
                            Ps „“ = 600 fy?! ■ ///f
                                        • •  •
                                                 :/ ■
                                                . y •                       >
                                                                                   oo
                                                                                   o
                                                                                   LU
        LU
        z
        LU
              1.0 -          (<™i
                                MW ) //                                 .-<00      La
                                                                                   z
        La
                                     / / X                                         tc
        LU
        >
                                    /M/“
                                   //Æ
                                                                                   oc
                                                                                   LU
                                                                                   z
        I-
        <
                                                      Х>°x 1200 //
                                                                                   LU
                                                                                   La
        LU
        oc             1200 ,</ '              /.                D|REa
                                                                 DIRECT
                                                                                   LU
                                                                                   I–
                                                                                   ZD
                           Z^*5.7 .•'-'..£'2000,..£2000          CONSTRUCTION      CD
              ° -5 b000.^ii7                   •"                COST         -k   I/O
                                                                                   CO
                    g = 24 2 '                                   CONTRIBUTION
                                                                 CONTRIBUTION      -<
                                                          1200
                                                          1200     --r'"'"600
                                 ,             2000 ^-"  12?'' \
                                                              FUSION POWER
                                                         C0RE CONTRIBUTION
                 0 -2-1-1-L_-1-1-1 0
                  0       10        20      30         40       50     60     70
                         MASS EXPENDITURE
                         MASS       EXPENDITURE 1t tonnes
                                                        tonnes // MW..
                                                                    MWS0 I)
FIGURE 3.2 : Correlation between generating cost , neutron wall loading and
                mass expenditure for minimum-cost devices at given values of g
                and power sent out
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            73 .
        The most striking features of figure 3-2 are the direct proportionality
between generating cost and mass expenditure and the wide range of cost that
can occur with different assumptions about g and P so .               ( The direct
proportionality would have been distorted somewhat if availability had been
related to wall loading but this was not thought reasonable to do here since a
utility will prescribe a desirable availability , like that shown in table 3.1 ,
and all design solutions must . satisfy it ).
           The results   of  figure 3-2 show that FPC cost curves are almoat
superimposed    indicating the strong dependence of its costing on mass .          A
typical unit cost is around 50 ECU/ kg and this is independent of P so and g .
However , the accessible range of values of ME varies considerably with g and
P __.    Although it only directly contributes about 15-35 ? to the direct costs
( 30$ for PSCR-E ), the FPC has an indirect effect on the rest of the plant .
This can be seen by the direct cost contribution curves which have now become
separated , since costs depending on power sent out , and fixed costs , have been
added in .    However , the change in slope of the curve indicates a " knock-on"
effect of FPC mass , which occurs mainly via the building costs since , under
present assumptions , building size is strongly related to FPC dimensions .     The
FPC thus influences 50-80? of the direct costs ( 71 ? for PCSR-E ).   Furthermore ,
at least 60? of non-direct costs depend on direct costs and this produces the
further amplifying effect on the slopes of the lines shown in the generating
cost curves .    The FPC then influences between MO-75? of the generating cost
( 65? for PCSR-E ) although it only directly contributes 8-1 8 ? ( or 13“20? if
first wall and blanket replacements are included ).
        These results show the strong influence of the FPC on costs .      However ,
this is partly a figment of the cost models used at present and is strongly
affected by items not usually considered in the fusion programme ( e.g. building
design for fusion plants ). This , combined with the strong variation in costs
that can be achieved with improved physics attainment , represented here by 'g' ,
makes costing of fusion reactors at this stage , highly speculative .
3.3   Directions for Improvement
       The above results do not indicate any hard target for the competitiveness
of fusion , such as the 100 kW e / tonne mentioned in section 2 , although any
improvement which lowers mass expenditure may result in a reduction in
generation cost .   At present all that can be said is that there is considerable
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                   74 .
uncertainty in costs of DT tokamak fusion caused by the lack of knowledge of
Lhi ! phynlcu and technology particularly of the KF’c : in a reactor . Despite this ,
current estimates of the absolute costs , shown in figure 3.2 , indicate that the
PCSR-E design point would be rather expensive as an end point of the tokamak
development programme . It is therefore worthwhile to speculate how the cost of
the end point device would be affected by future developments .
3.3.1    Direct cost réduction
       To accomplish this , inherently cheaper technological solutions than those
proposed for the engineering design problems of NET would have to be found .           In
the present PCSR-E design , the major direct cost items / 42 / are the fusion
power core ( 30$ ), buildings ( 19$ ) and the cooling/ generating system ( 12$ ).    The
latter two items have not yet been optimised even for NET , so it is reasonable
to expect considerable improvements by the time commercial reactors are being
designed .    For the fusion power core , magnet costs , which are strongly driven
by specific conductor costs , make up more than half the total .       A significant
reduction of these specific costs under the mass-production of superconducting
cable needed for fusion reactors is therefore to be expected , irrespective of
any cheaper design solutions       that may be   implemented .   As a guideline ,       a
generation cost reduction of 15$ ( without change in mass expenditure ) can be
achieved by reducing specific costs of all items in only the FPC by 50$ .
3.3.2    Improved plasma physics at constant power sent out
       This is represented here by the factor g .     A 15$ reduction in generating
costs is achievable with a 60$ increase in g .       A consequent 20$ reduction in
mass expenditure occurs due to this Increase in compactness .      This approach has
its limitations , however , as g has to be doubled again to reduce costs by a
further 15$ . However , these calculations have been carried out using a fixed
plasma configuration , and innovations in this area ( see section 4 ) which
improve the plasma beta at constant g and which have the advantage of making
the device more compact , may , despite possible extra costs due to the use of
more exotic configurations , have a beneficial effect overall on cost .
3.3.3    Raised P so without g increase
           Increasing compactness is not the only method of decreasing mass
expenditure .    A 15$ reduction in generating cost would be achieved by a 40$
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             75 .
increase in power sent out without increasing g , as shown in figure 3-1 • The
corresponding mass expenditure decrease wouLd be 16 ?. However , this increased
power sent out would have to be acceptable to the utilities . Here there are
differences , with , for instance , 1500 MWgQ becoming the new European standard ,
whereas in the USA , 300-600 MW so units are thought to be more desirable for
their future energy needs .
3.4   Sensitivity to Assumptions
       In producing the results quoted here , certain basic assumptions have been
made . The sensitivity of the cost of PCSR-E to changes in these assumptions is
shown in table 3-2 for the most sensitive parameters .        The sensitivity is
defined as the relative change in the costs , divided by a given relative change
in the parameter , all other parameters in the table remaining fixed .           The
sensitivity is quoted relative to that for variations in g .         Three plasma
physics parameters head the list and they are not really independent ( as
assumed in the sensitivity analysis ) since g and q depend on the radial
profiles   of  plasma   density and   temperature  in a way   which can only be
determined after extensive experimentation on reactor-level plasmas .         These
profiles are implicitly included in f which is also a function of plasma
operating temperature .
      Stress levels in the toroidal field coils are less important .    The use of
better quality materials in superconducting coil manufacture may ease this
limit towards higher values , but many superconducting materials are strain
limited and this may provide a nearby limit . Also blanket thickness is not a
major cost driver .     This is fortunate since adequate space must always be
allowed for tritium breeding .
3.5   Discussion
       The results given above indicate that generating cost must be used with
extreme caution as a measure of the future worth of fusion power from DT-driven
tokamaks as it strongly depends on the FPC cost ; which is poorly known at this
stage . It is therefore too early to draw hard and fast conclusions from this
analysis and such conclusions must wait until more is known about reactor
design solutions and their technology , that is , at the end of operation of NET .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            76 .
       Even though generating cost values are uncertain , it is apparent that
factors of 2 can result from future research and development activities . There
appears to be a benefit in systems which either reduce mass expenditure , by
possessing higher g and / or operating at increased levels of power sent out , or
reduce fusion power core costs by the use of cheaper design solutions .         This
clearly points the direction for future development but the strength of the
incentive cannot yet be clearly quantified .   It must also be remembered that in
a mature fusion economy , learning will significantly reduce costs / 10 / over the
absolute values shown here .
        However , before fusion can be introduced on a large scale , the cost
difference between fusion and its competitors must be small or even negative .
That fusion has the development potential to accomplish this is demonstrated in
the following section .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       77
        TABLE 3.1 : LEVELISED GENERATION COST ASSUMPTIONS
Plant lifetime                                  25 years
Availability - Year 1                           4000 hours / yr
               Year 2                           5000 hours / yr
                Year 3-25                       6600 hours / yr
Discount rate                                   5%
Indirect costs                                  29% of D
Interest during construction                    23% of D
Decommissioning costs                           20% of D , discounted
         TABLE 3.2 : SUMMARY OF MOST SENSITIVE PARAMETERS
                                                           Relative
Parameter                           Value                  Sensitivity
Beta level , g                       3.5                        -1 .0
Inverse rotational transform q       2.2                          0.8
Fusion power density ratio , f       1 .5                       - 0.5
Blanket thickness                    0.55 / 0.85 m                0.3
Toroidal field stress level          160 MN/m2                  - 0.2
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                      78 .
4.    DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL FOR FUSION
           The present fusion programmes world-wide are scientific programmes
orientated towards solving problems of principle . In the past , the programmes
concentrated on physics questions because the largest hurdle to be overcome was
seen there but , as a consequence of the progress made in physics , a gradual
transition has been taking place for some years now to increasingly include
questions of technology as well .
        The target of the programmes is a demonstration reactor to prove by its
successful operation that working solutions have been found for all problem
areas .    However , these solutions , if applied without any further improvement ,
would result     in a commercial reactor more costly than perhaps necessary .
Therefore the demonstration of basic feasibility has to be followed by a period
of technical improvement ( i.e. innovation and simplification of the design ) to
arrive at a desirable and economically competitive end product .              Such a step ¬
wise procedure is advisable , especially since many of the expected improvements
at the reactor level would have no or only negligible impact on present-day
experiments .
         In order to substantiate this argument , an activity on reactor concept
innovations was     started within   the  INTOR   frame and the first results will be
reported here .                                                                   1
4.1    Reactor concept innovations
       At the request of the IFRC ( International Fusion Research Council ) an IAEA
Specialists' Meeting was held on 1 3 - 1 7 January 1986 at Agency headquarters in
Vienna / 43 /.    The purpose of this meeting was to identify innovations that
would significantly improve the prospects that fusion reactor development would
lead to an attractive end product - a viable and economically competitive
fusion reactor , and to limit the initial activity to the Tokamak concept . A
worldwide call for innovative proposals was made prior to the meeting via the
INTOR Workshop . About 120 proposals on innovations were received and underwent
a first analysis . They were nearly equally distributed among nine categories :
( i ) impurity control , ( ii ) beta and confinement enhancement , ( iii ) heating and
current drive , ( iv ) advanced magnets , ( v ) plasma engineering , ( vi ) configuration
and maintenance , ( vii ) advanced blankets / first walls / shields , ( viii ) advanced
materials , and ( ix ) innovative concepts .       Categories ( i ) to ( iii ) are in the
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               79 .
physics field , and ( iv)-(viii ) in the field of engineering .       As expected from
the early concentration of the fusion programme on physics questions ,              the
physics innovations mainly consisted of anticipated results of present
activities promising plasma conditions suitable for reactor application ,
whereas       many  of    the  engineering    innovations  were    orientated   towards
improvements of       the   end product with no essential      impact on the present
generation of experiments .       This will become apparent from the results of the
Workshop summarized in the next section .
H.2     Results of the Workshop on Reactor Concept Innovations
4.2.1      General
         By combination of a large number of the proposed innovations , substantial
improvements seem to be possible , even if the single ones alone might only
produce moderate effects .      This conclusion holds even if some of the proposals
in the end would turn out not           to be feasible .    Furthermore , many of the
proposals are not restricted to Tokamaks but applicable to toroidal magnetic
confinement in general .
H.2.2      Increase in plasma power density
          There were a considerable number of proposals aiming at increasing the
plasma power density .         They range from using indentation and the second
stability regime , to increasing the magnetic field by using advanced super ¬
conductors allowing both higher field and higher current density , and they also
include sophisticated feedback circuits to improve plasma stability .              Here
combination looks promising .        If all of them work it is expected that the
limitation in power density will then be set by the acceptable wall load .
*». 2.3    Plasma heating
            Compared to the presently used systems , high energy ( about 0.5 MeV )
neutral beam injection should allow the beam power density to be increased by
an order of magnitude above that of today 's systems and , simultaneously , the
distance between beam sources and plasma to be increased to 30 m or so ( high
beam collimation ) .       This should not only allow the blanket coverage to be
increased but also the beam sources to be put into regions with nearly no
neutron irradiation .       In addition , these beams could perhaps also be used for
 ---pagebreak---                                                                              80 .
  active impurity control and current drive .     Present plasmas are too small in
  cross-section for such beams to be applicable .
  4.2.4    Trends
          After having discussed the proposals on advanced Tokamak concepts , the
  Workshop recommend to    put  emphasis on   improving upon the present line of
  moderate elongation , moderate aspect ratio configurations rather than switching
  over to very elongated or very low aspect ratio configurations .
  4.2.5 System Aspects
           There was one proposal of potentially high influence on the reactor
  concept . It exploits the extremely high plasma temperature ( above 100 million
  degrees ) unique to fusion power by replacing the usual balance of plant by in-
  situ MHD power conversion .    MHD circuits are introduced directly behind the
  blanket such that the toroidal magnetic field existing anyway can be used for
  the MHD process . The plasma electron temperature will be raised to above 30 keV
  so that half the alpha power will be converted into synchrotron radiation which
 will be used to create the necessary non-equilibrium ionization within the MHD
 medium at acceptable operating temperature .     By this method the neutron energy
  could be absorbed by high ( but still manageable ) temperature pebble beds and
  then exploited by the MHD process . This proposal claims considerable savings
  in the balance of the plant .      The concept is also applicable to magnetic
  confinement in general and not restricted to Tokamaks .
  4.2.6   Summary on reactor concept innovations
             The Workshop has clearly shown that there are enough ideas for
  significantly improving the end product above previous perceptions . Nearly one
''half of the proposals received were selected for deeper studies on their
  prospects of final feasibility .        This provides a large potential for
  substantial improvements .
  4.3   Stellarators and Reversed Field Pinches
         In Europe it was concluded at a very early stage that toroidal magnetic
  confinement offered the best chance of leading to a viable fusion reactor , and
  practically all the European fusion effort was concentrated on this class of
 ---pagebreak---                                                                              81 .
systems with      the Tokamak being the main approach .      Therefore , the above
sections dealt with the prospects of the Tokamak as the ultimate fusion reactor
concept .    There are , however , substantial possibilities of improving on the
Tokamak where it encounters difficulties in its physics and engineering .
Stellarators and Reversed Field Pinches are being developed in Europe with
these prospects in mind .       According to European plans the concept selection
will be made after NET operation .
          The Stellarator line of magnetic confinement uses external electric
currents to produce the magnetic field in which a ring of plasma is passively
contained .    The successful operation of the Wendelstein Stellarators and of a
few other machines in other countries have made the Stellarator line a very
serious contender with the Tokamak as the basis for a future fusion reactor .
The transfer of the Tokamak plasma current into external coil currents for
producing the necessary poloidal field components allows the Stellarator to
work with only one single coil system , to dispense with any transformer or
current    drive system ,   to be free of disruptions ,   and to use steady-state
operation as an inherent property .       Once ignited it works by re-fuelling and
exhaust alone .      Present work aims at establishing beta values predicted by
theory and solving the impurity problem .
     Reversed Field Pinches , on the other hand , use plasma currents higher than
those of a Tokamak .      The magnetic field configuration produced in this way is
expected to relax into a minimum-energy state promising very high values of the
plasma pressure stably confined by the RFP fields .         Experiments in Culham ,
Padua , and elsewhere in the world have shown that the basic processes work .
This concept offers the advantage of arriving at the burning state by ohmic
heating alone .      Present work aims at establishing the RFP configuration at
higher plasma parameters and at reducing the transport losses to acceptable
values .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                82 .
5.  COMPARISON WITH OTHER POWER SYSTEMS
          If fusion power      is to be introduced on a large scale it must be
competitive with baseload generating technologies .        Today these technologies
are the conventional coal-fired and nuclear thermal power stations . By the
mid-21st Century when nuclear fusion can be expected to be commercially
available , fast breeder nuclear power and solar photovoltaic conversion are
also likely to have reached commercial maturity .
5.1  Comparison validity
          It could be argued that coal-fired plants and nuclear plants will
undoubtedly change in many ways during the next 50 years or so , making any
reference     to   their  present   state  irrelevant .   However ,  some long    term
tendencies of these changes can be inferred :
         - For coal-fired plants ,     increasingly difficult exploitation of fuel
resources and the strengthening of anti-pollution standards will lead to higher
prices .     In addition , worries about the increase in atmospheric CO^ could
curtail the use of fossil-fuels in power generation .
         - For thermal fission reactors , a number of technological changes are
still possible .     Higher fuel utilisation would be particularly stimulated by an
increase of the uranium ore price .
                                                                             )
       In the long term , the uranium price will undoubtedly increase , although
neither    the   time scale nor the slope of this increase        is known and they
obviously depend on the worldwide development of nuclear energy .           With the
present state of the art , multiplying the price of fuel by a factor of 10
induces a factor of about 2 in the generating cost of thermal fission reactors .
     Other types of reactors , like the HTR with a thorium cycle , or molten salt
reactors , could also appear in the meantime . In the case of fast breeder
reactors , the investment cost of the French Superphenix plant is about twice
the price of a French PWR . This is expected to reduce significantly for future
commercial fast breeder reactor plants / 44 , 45 /.
          The above uncertainties indicate the difficulty in telling in what
direction and to what extent the present price of nuclear energy will change
half a century ahead .       Therefore comparisons of fusion with present costs of
these systems can only give guidance , since it must be remembered that the
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                83 .
price of present day systems may          increase considerably over the timescale
envisaged for the introduction of fusion .
5.2  Non- quant ified économie characteristics
        There are a number of somewhat intangible but potentially beneficial
effects of an electricity generation network with fusion as a major
constituent .    These include :
        - Security of fuel availability .         Deuterium and lithium are spread
widely and plentifully , a guarantee against a geopolitical crisis .
        - Low fuel price dependence allows even low fuel-content resources to be
exploited and ,    in the very long term , keeps at a low level the influence on
generation costs of fuel price escalation .
        - The fuel cycle is internal to the power plant , so the fuel supply does
not depend in principle on extensive off-site reprocessing systems and their
associated logistics . Even if recycling of lithium proves to be desirable from
an economic standpoint ,     this is much less expensive and hazardous than with
fission .
           Without     the  need  for    fuel  reprocessing  there   is  considerable
difficulty    in   the  diversion of materials     for the  construction  of  nuclear
weapons without detection .
        - Opportunity for reduced waste hazard by developing low activation
materials ( materials presently proposed are optimised for use in fission ),
leading to a lower impact on society .
        - The reduced scale of possible accidents .
5.3  Quantitative cost comparison
        Generation cost has been used in several studies by the OECD /Nuclear
Energy Agency / 46 , 47 /, UNIPEDE / 38 /, and in national comparisons of coal - fired
and nuclear generation of electricity . These results are shown in table 5.1 ,
and transferred to 1984 US $ for comparison with the other technologies .
      The generation costs of nuclear fission and coal-fired power stations are
illustrated by appropriate high and low estimates for the different generating
cost components taken from the OECD /NEA reports . The fuel costs , however ,
include price escalations within the time horizon ( 2020 ).             The cost of
electricity from fast breeder reactors must be within the cost range for coal
and thermal fission , if this technology is to penetrate the market on a large
scale , so this is not included in the table .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 84 .
         Solar energy appears to be a possible challenger of fusion in the middle
of the next century , at least in Southern Europe . Two processes are currently
under development : thermodynamic cycles ( with mirrors and boilers ) and direct
conversion ( photovoltaic cells ).     The probability that thermodynamic cycles can
be a valuable long term solution is limited , considering its vulnerability to
weathering .      The prospects are better for direct conversion .       The price of
direct conversion is sensitive to cost and efficiency of photovoltaic cells ,
for which significant improvements are possible .      However , even if zero cost is
assumed       for  photovoltaic  cells   and   several  values      taken   for   their
efficiencies , the minimum generation cost is still about 20 mills / kWh / 48 /.
Two solar photovoltaic generation studies with realistic prices for the cells
/ 50 ,   51 / are quoted   in table 5.1   and they quantify expected reductions of
investment costs .      No estimates are made for operation and maintenance cost ,
these being considered negligible .
          The basic conclusion that can be drawn from table 5.1       is that all the
estimates are of the same order of magnitude , and that the numerical values of
the cost ranges of these technologies are overlapping .
        The most recent estimate of fusion power costs , PCSR-E , which is a first -
of- a - kind study and does not assume improvements beyond the present physics
base , shows costs that are three times higher than those of the Starfire study
from 1980 , which was a tenth- of- a- kind study .       Under learning assumptions
typically assumed for Starfire , cost reductions of between 30 and 50$ over
first-off costs are readily obtainable .        Fission costs that are estimated on
uniform assumptions show a range from 19 to 53 mills 1984 per kWh , which has a
significant overlap with the 29 to 86 mills per kWh range for fusion . Since
any cost calculation so far ahead in the future is bound to be extremely
uncertain , this should not necessarily lead to the conclusion at this stage
that the one will be eventually more expensive than the other .
       Within the calculated cost range of these technologies that already exist ,
namely coal and thermal fission , ranging from 20 to 80 mills-1984 per kWh , it
seems likely that both nuclear fusion and solar photovoltaic will be able to
penetrate in the future as large-scale generating technologies .
                                                                                        7
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 85 .
TABLE 5.1 : ESTIMATES OF        ELECTRICITY GENERATION COSTS IN MILLS-1 984/kWh1
               BY MID 21st     CENTURY FOR LARGE SCALE BASE LOAD TECHNOLOGIES
        Discount rate   5%                         Invest       0&M    Fuel      Total
Fusion
   Starfire ( tenth of a kind ) 2                   25.9         3.3    0.0       29.2
   CRFPR.20 ( not first of a kind ) 2               19.4         6.1    0.0       24.5
   MARS ( tenth of a kind ) 2                       36.2   .     4.0    0.5       40.7
   PCSR-E ( first of a kind )^                      70.6        15.0    0.7       86.4
Thermal Fission
   0ECD/NEA low estimates ( France )^               10           4      5         19
   0ECD/NEA high estimates ( USA ) 5                32           5     16         53
Coal                                   r
   OECD /NEA low estimates ( Italy !                 6.9         2.8   24.6       34.4
   0ECD /NEA high estimates ( USAT                  14.0         4.8   63.2       82.0
                      g
Solar photovoltaic
   USD0E Price Goal 1990
   (1 . 10$-1980/W ) Northern Europe                89                            89
                     Southern Europe                54                            54
   EC Study
   (2 ECU-1980/W ) Northern Europe                164                            164
                     Southern Europe                98                            98
Notes
1.      $ 1984 = 0.833 $ 1980 = 1.21 ECU 1984
2      As in section 2 but assuming annual capital charge 7.1 ? ( interest 5% / year ,
        lifetime 25 years ) instead of 10% .
3      As in section 3
4.     French investment and O&M costs plus parameters of once-through nuclear
       fuel cycle giving lowest         fuel costs ;    no escalation in uranium price
        ($ 32/lb U30g ) / 46 , 47/.
5.     Central US .    investment and O&M costs plus parameters of once-through
       nuclear fuel cycle giving highest fuel costs ; uranium price escalation 4%
       p.a . from 1995 to 2020 ($ 85 / lb U.0fi
                                             3 «
                                                 ) / 46 , 47 /.
6.      Italian investment & 0&M costs plus coal price after 2020 2.4 $/GJ / 46 ,
       47 /.
7.     Central U.S investment and 0&M costs plus German indigenous coal , coal-
       price after 2020 4.7 $ /GJ / 46 , 47 /.
8.     Annual capital charge 7.1% ( interest rate 5% / year , lifetime 25 years )..
       Load factor for Denmark 0.12 , for southern Italy 0.2 / 49 , 50 , 51 /.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                            86 .
5. 4   Criticism of the economic potential of fusion
       In parallel with the extensive literature containing fusion reactor design
studies with detailed cost estimates , there have been several publications / 52-
58 / which have sought to demonstrate through general arguments that fusion
power will be uneconomic .        These publications argue that fusion devices can
achieve only a low power density , need a long energy payback time , require
highly     complex   but reliable     design       solutions ,   have    an   end-product   with
undesirable     features  and    therefore       that    the   present     strategy  of   fusion
development is incorrect .
5.4.1     Power density
        With regard to power density , it is certainly very likely that the power
density in the fusion power core ( see glossary ) will be considerably lower
( typically 30-40 times ) than inside a fission reactor pressure vessel . Even if
it were sensible to use the same cost per unit volume for both systems , and
even if the fission reactor pressure vessel were to amount to the high figure
of 7 % of the construction cost of a fission plant , this power density factor
would only lead to an increased construction cost of fusion over fission of 3 _ 4
times .    That solely power - density- based comparisons are not very reasonable can
be seen by examining fission itself , where typical power densities in a PWR ,
                                                                         3
AGR and Magnox reactors are around 15 , 3 and 0.4 MW..             tn
                                                                      /m      respectively / 59 /
whereas the construction and generation cost differences are within a factor of
2 / 60 /.
          In fact , topologically a fusion reactor most resembles a coal or oil
plant , in that it has a single combustion chamber surrounded by a heat sink .
Of course , in the case of fusion , this heat sink must be much thicker than with
a coal plant to absorb neutrons ,         and the combustion chamber must be under
vacuum and filled with magnetic field , and this leads leads to greater expense
for the fusion " furnace ".       However , the power density averaged over a coal
                                                   3
combustion chamber is about 0.1 MW- T,T   . . \ /m   / 61 / compared to the typical fusion
power core value / 59 / of 0.5 MW en.. /m   expected in a reactor .
        In addition , the construction cost difference between coal and fission is
in contradiction to the difference in their power densities , again showing the
weakness of power density in comparing different power generation systems .
Power density is only a useful indication of cost trends when changes are made
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                87 .
to a single design concept of one particular power generation system , as in
section 3i and it is not realistic to use it as the only yardstick for
comparisons of different types of systems . It should also be realised that the
low power density of fusion may turn out to be a considerable advantage due to
its tendency to produce safety benefits .
5.4.2    Energy payback ( Net Energy Gain )
        As far as energy payback time is concerned , it is important to consider
lifetime energy requirements for construction , fuelling and operating power
plants and their output as a function of time in order to see the full picture
/ 32 , 33 /.  When this is done , energy payback time ( i.e. the time after the
commissioning date to recover the energy expended up to that point ) turns out
to be a rather misleading term to use , and should be replaced by the net energy
gain over the lifetime of the plant .       As was demonstrated in section 2 ( Table
2.4 ) fission has considerable energy expenditure on replacement fuel after
commissioning and this is not present with fusion .        In fact , the net energy
gain over the lifetime can turn out to be higher for fusion than fission .
5.4.3    Masses
       That fusion can hope to be eventually competitive in price with fission is
shown clearly by comparisons of the material masses involved in both plant
types / 62 /. The ratio of masses between the presently conceived fusion power
core ( including lithium-containing breeder ) and a PWR reactor pressure vessel
( including fuel ) is around a factor of 30 . However , when the full plant is
considered , the mass of metals in the plant ( which are the highest cost and
energy-using components of the plant ) is around 30J higher for fusion .
5.4.4    Complexity
        It has also been argued that fusion involves much greater complexity than
fission , and that this will both push up component costs and reduce system
availability , both having an effect on generation costs . This argument cannot
yet be conclusively refuted , but because of the lower power densities in fusion
plants compared to fission plants , fewer safety systems , whose failure would
interfere with plant availability , will be required . For comparison , todays
aircraft have many more systems and are much more complex , yet they are now
much more reliable than in earlier times .       By analogy , fusion ought similarly
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                    88 .
to be able to cope with the complexity of its systems without, an excessive cost
penalty .
5.4.5     Undeslrable Characteristi.es
         Fusion has also been criticized for having undesirable qualities in the
end-product reactor . These centre around the use of lithium and tritium , the
presence of high energy neutrons , and pulsed operation .
        As far as lithium is concerned , the European strategy excludes its use in
the metallic form in which it presents a fire hazard .               From the resource
viewpoint lithium is not a serious restraint on the expansion of fusion , since
a typical 1200 megawatt reactor lithium lifetime requirement ( of which 1 / 10th
is consumed ) is around 100t of enriched lithium / 10 / compared with world
reserves ( on land ) estimated in 1970 at 1 80 Mt /63 /.             Taking account of
enrichment ,    but   without    considering    the  possibility  of  recycling   unused
lithium , 500 fusion plants would take around 500 years to consume 5% of the
world land-based resources .        This is less than but comparable to the predicted
timescale for consumption of energy reserves in the most well-endowed European
countries , so it might be argued that the development of fusion is therefore
unnecessary .      However ,   the  purpose   of the present programme    is to develop
fusion , so as to be able to choose the best system at any given time , bearing
in mind the problems that may arise with alternative power generation methods
( e.g. CO^ with fossil fuels ).
         Furthermore , sea-borne lithium resources are nearly 20000 times larger
than land-borne and in energy terms 40 times larger than sea-borne uranium
/ 57 /). Lithium also occurs at 500-1000 times the concentration of uranium / 64 ,
65 / making extraction more economically viable .            In addition , recycling of
unused lithium might be contemplated as a means of stretching resources by a
further order of magnitude .        Also , within the above half-millenniumm a greater
understanding of the         fusion  process and a desire to optimise the process
further is likely to lead to an evolution away from dependence on tritium ( and
hence on lithium ), to use possibly pure deuterium as a fuel or even an isotope
                 O
of helium ( He ) found throughout the solar system / 66 /. For the relatively
near term , however ,     it should be noted that even now there is considerable
knowledge of how to handle tritium at the concentrations required for fusion ,
under a commercial reactor operating environment , it being a by-product of the
irradiation of heavy water in CANDU reactors .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                89 .
       With regard to high energy neutrons in the fusion process , this is the
price paid for having clean reaction products , and gives an advantage ,
especially when comparison is made with the long term disposal of fission
products .    ( This point is considered further in the companion report on
Environmental Aspects of Fusion ). It is worth noting however that no practical
fusion fuel for a man-made power source is completely neutron-free and
therefore there is always some residual radioactivity associated with
structural materials surrounding the reactor .        It is by developing the most
suitable    surrounding    materials ,  having  very    low  levels   of  long-lived
radioactivity ,     that fusion will reach its full potential , and the costs of
developing or manufacturing these materials is not thought at this stage to be
prohibitive / 67 /.
      Steady state operation of a fusion device might be desirable both from an
operational viewpoint and to reduce the fatigue experienced by the reactor
subsystems .      The  principle  has  already  been   demonstrated  experimentally ,
although at this early stage of its development there are doubts about its
economic viability on a commercial scale .     In the end , its implementation will
depend on the relative effects on generation cost of the efficiency of the
method used for maintaining steady state operation and of the increased quality
of fatigue-resistant materials and components .     In any case , living with cyclic
fatigue   is not a unique problem for fusion ,       it being commonplace in many
                V
complex structures today .
5.4.6   Strategy
         The strategy and justification for developing fusion has also been
questioned / 56 / implying that the likely return from fusion is small compared
to the investment on its development . Although it is impossible to say today
with absolute certainty that the present development programme will result in
the successful implementation of fusion power ( it being the purpose of the
programme to find out whether this is possible ), the potential long-term return
if fusion were implemented would be enormous because of the long time over
which this return would be made .        As a proportion of generation costs for
fusion reactors over this long timescale , development costs can only be a
minuscule proportion .
          The critisism has also been made / 54 / that , by concentrating on DT
Tokamak fusion , prospects are weakened for ever developing better alternative
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                 90 .
fusion concepts .     Even proponents of DT fusion realise that their present
reactor concepts will have to be improved upon to make them as highly desirable
as fusion was initially claimed to be , but realise that the best way to find
out how to make such improvements is to pursue at least one line of research
vigorously towards the commercialization phase .        DT Tokamak fusion looks from
the present viewpoint to be able to achieve the earliest commercialisation date
but other confinement methods are not being neglected .          In fact about 10$ of
the  worldwide   and   European   fusion   budget   is being  spent   on research and
development of alternatives to the tokamak / 68 /.         Whether DT or more exotic
fuels can economically be used in such confinement schemes will depend on the
confinement physics attained .      In any case the status of such alternatives to
the  Tokamak   is   continually    being   re-examined   and  a   check-point  on    the
development status of such schemes is already planned in the European programme
before proceeding to a demonstration fusion reactor .         Concentrating on the DT
Tokamak line at this stage is intended to produce information which would be
valid for whatever confinement concept is pursued further at that time .
     In summary , therefore , the information presented by the critics of fusion
is  often  highly   selective ,   and  the   conclusions  are   not  supported by    the
detailed studies .      It is   true that the     low power density of many present
designs leads to high capital costs , but the estimated cost of electricity from
fusion power stations is not so much greater than forecast costs from existing
or other alternative energy sources that fusion can be dismissed on economic
grounds .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               91 .
6.  CONCLUSIONS
      Since the earliest commercialisation date for fusion power looks from the
present perspective to be around the middle of the next century , any prediction
today of its economic prospects is rather uncertain .     However , this has not led
to the development of fusion without consideration of its ultimate economic
potential as is witnessed by the considerable number of power reactor studies
whose results are recorded in this report . By the very nature of our present
understanding of fusion and its technology , these studies give rather a wide
range of results .     They do prove extremely useful , however , in identifying
general trends for future development .    It is clear of course that if a fusion
reactor had to be constructed today ,      using the presently available plasma
parameters with    their established scalings and using presently established
technologies , that reactor would have an electricity cost in the upper range of
the  projections   for   other  systems .   However ,  fusion   physics  and  fusion
technology have developed by orders of magnitude over the last 20 years .        This
history and the present experience in fusion research lead to the belief that
the development potential for fusion will , over the comming decades , result in
considerable improvements in the relationship between the generation cost for
fusion and that of other systems .
      Not only is it impossible to forecast the economic conditions , it is also
difficult to fully appreciate now the improvements which will undoubtedly occur
during the further development of the fusion reactor system .      Examples given in
the previous sections show that such improvements can also be expected from
innovations which are not      necessary on   present-generation systems .     Their
impact will only become significant if integrated into full-scale reactors .
The programmes on Stellarators and Reversed Field Pinches could also have an
important influence .     In any case , the development cost for fusion power is
only a small fraction of todays expenditure for energy supply . Finally , the
use of fossil fuel will eventually have to be restricted to those applications
where there is no alternative , such as transport .            The increasing C0^~
accumulation may otherwise lead to difficulties .     It is therefore essential to
have more than one high-potential energy source available working without any
CO2 production , and thus in all respects environmentally acceptable , and the
ultimate goal for fusion reactor development is to satisfy this need .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                   92 .
7.     REFERENCES
/1/       A fusion power plant , R. G. Mills et al , MATT-1050 , August 1974 .
/ 2/      UWMAK , A Wisconsin toroidal fusion reactor design , UWFDM-68 , ( Vol II
          May 1975 ).
/ 3/      UWMAK- I I , A conceptual tokamak power reactor design , B. Badger et al ,
          UWFDM-112 , October 1975 .
/4/       UWMAK- I II , A non-circular tokamak power reactor design , EPRI - ER-368 ,
          July 1976 .
/ 5/      Reactor     costs    and  maintenance  with reference to  the  Culham  MK    II
          conceptual tokamak design , R. Hancox and J.T.D. Mitchell , Proc . 6th Int .
          Conf . on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research , Vol 3 ,
          pp 193-202 , October 1976 .
/ 6/      NUWMAK , a tokamak reactor design study , B. Badger et al ,
          UWFDM-330 , March 1979 .
/7/       An analysis of the estimated capital cost of a fusion reactor ,       A. A.
          Hollis and L.S. Evans , Proc . 11th Symposium on Fusion Technolgy , Oxford
          pp 1203-1214 , September 1980 .
/ 8/      An analysis of the estimated capital cost for a fusion reactor ,
          A. A. Hollis , AERE-R 9933 , June 1981 .
/ 9/      Culham conceptual tokamak Mk II : Design Study of the layout of a twin
          reactor fusion power station , J.A.S. Guthrie and N.H. Harding , CLM-R215 ,
          July 1981 .
/ 10 /    STARFIRE - A commercial tokamak design study , C.C. Baker , M.A. Abdou et
          al . ANL/FPP - 80 - 1 September 1980 .
/1 1/     Standard mirror fusion reactor design study , R.W. Moir et al ,
          UCID-1 7644 , January 1978 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               93 .
/ 1 2/ The reversed field pinch reactor ( RFPR ) concept .   R.L. Hagenson et al .
       f.A-7973 - MS , August 1979 .
/ 1 3/ Witamir-I , A University of Wisconsin Tandem mirror reactor design , B.
       Badger et al .          UWFDM-400 , September 1980 .    ( Chapter XV . System
       economics ). See also UWFDM-375 . October 1980 .
/ 14 / Wildcat : a catalized D-D tokamak reactor , K. Evans et al ,
       ANL / FPP /TM-150 , November 1981 .
/ 1 5/ ELMO Bumpy torus reactor and power plant . Conceptual design study ,
       C.G. Bathke et al , LA - 8882 -MS, August 1981 .
/ 1 6/ UWTOR-M , A conceptual modular stellarator power reactor
       B. Badger et al , UWFDM-550 , October 1982 .
/ 17 / The modular stellarator reactor : a fusion power plant , R.L. Miller et
       al , LA - 9737 - MS, July 1983 .
/ 1 8/ Mirror Advanced Reactor Study ( MARS ): Executive Summary and overview ,
       B.G. Logan et al , UCRL-53563 , July 1984 .
/ 1 9/ Compact 1 reversed field pinch reactors ( CRFPR ) : fusion -power - core
       integration study , C. Copenhaver et al , LA - 10500-MS, August 1985 .
/ 20 / Hiball - a conceptual heavy ion beam driven fusion reactor study ,
       B. Badger et al , UWFDM-450 , June 1981 .
/ 21 / Hiball-II . An improved conceptual heavy ion beam driven fusion reactor
       study , KfK 3840 , July 1985 .
/ 22/  A currency exchange rate for use in technical comparisons .
       D.E.T.F. Ashby .      CLM-R245 , May 1984 .
/ 23 / Cost sensitivity analysis of possible fusion power plants , R. Biinde ,
       Atomkernenergie ( ATKE ) Bd . 30 ( 1977 ) Lfg 3 .
/ 24 / Scaling of tokamak reactor costs , W.R. Spears and J.A. Wesson , Nuclear
       Fusion , Vol 20(12 ), pp 1525-1532 , December 1980 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                       94 .
/ 25 / Tokamak and reversed field pinch reactor cost scaling P.I.H Cooke ,
       Proc . 12th Symposium on Fusion Technology , pp 851-856 , September 1982 .
/ 26 / Factors affecting the minimum capital cost of a tokamak reactor
       R. Hancox , Proc . 11th Symposium on Fusion Technology , Oxford , pp 1209 -
       1214 , September 1980 . ( Also CLM-P623 ).
/ 27 / Cost scaling of tokamaks , J. Sheffield and A. Gibson , Nuclear Fusion 15 ,
       pp 677-685 , 1975 .
/ 28 / Cost assessment of a generic magnetic fusion reactor ,
       J. Sheffield et al .          Oak Ridge National Laboratory Report ORNL / TM-9311
       ( 1986 ).
/ 29 / Generic magnetic fusion reactor cost assessment , J. Sheffield , Journal
       of Fusion Energy 4(2 / 3 ), ( 1985 ) 187-197 .
/ 30 / Report on high power density fusion systems ( MFAC , Panel X ) May 1985 .
/31 /  Compact Fusion Reactors , R.A. Krakowski , R. Hagenson , Los Alamos Report
       LA - UR - 83 - 930 ( Revised ).
/ 32 / Evaluation of          the  energy required     for  constructing and operating a
       fusion power plant , R. BUnde , Proc . 12th Symposium on Fusion Technology ,
       JUlich , pp 837-844 , September 1982 .
/ 33 / NET energy gain from DT fusion , R. BUnde , Proc . 13th Symposium on Fusion
       Technology , Varese , pp 181-188 , September 1984 .
/ 34 / The potential net energy gain from D-T fusion power plants , R. BUnde ,
       Nuclear Engineering and design / fusion , Vol 3(1 ), PP 1 – 36 , October 1985 .
/ 35 / Energy analysis of coal , fission and fusion power plants ,
       N. Tsoulfanidis .         Nuclear Technology / Fusion , Vol 1 , pp 238-254 ,
       April 1981 .
/ 36 / The      tokamak      hydrid    reactor , J.L.    Kelly   and   R.P.  Rose , Nuclear
       Engineering and Design 63(2 ), pp 395-421 , March 1981 .
/ 37 / The SCAN- 2 cost model , NET report EUR- FU/XII - 80/86/62.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                         95 .
/ 38/      Electricity Generation Costs Assessments made in 1984 for stations to be
           commissioned in 1995 . Moynet G. , UNIPEDE Study , 1985 .
/ 39/      A Model for the Computation Design of Tokamaks - Part I : general
           OverView , Borrass , K. , NET Report EUR - FU/XII - 361 / 85 / 42
/ 40 /     Reactor Beyond NET , Spears W.R. , to be published in Proc . IAEA Tech .
           Ctte Mtg . & Workshop on Fusion Reactor Design & Technology , Yalta , USSR ,
           26 May - 6 June 1986 .
/ 41 /     DEMO & FCTR Parameters , Spears , W.R. , NET Report EUR- FU/XII - 361 / 85/ 41
/ 42/      Reactor Cost Driving Items , Spears , W.R. , to be published in Fusion
           Technology , Proc . 14th Symposium , Avignon , France , September 1986 .
/ 43 /     IAEA Tec doc / 373 , 1986 .
/ 44 / •   Status of Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors , Technical Reports Series
           No . 246 , IAEA , Vienna , 1985 .
/ 45 /     Nucleonics Week , January 23rd 1986 .
/ 46 /     Projected
                  I
                       Costs of Generating Electricity from Nuclear and Coal-fired
           power stations for commissioning in 1995 . OECD /NEA . Paris 1986 .
/ 47 /     The economics of the nuclear fuel cycle , OECD /NEA , Paris 1985 .
/ 48 /     Minimum cost of photovoltaic energy for a utility grid and general
           features of a generating plant using costless solar cells . Madet ,
         . D.,Fourth E.C. Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conférence , Stresa , 10-14 May
         . 1982 .
/ 49 /     Solceller i et fremtidigt dansk energisystem .
           Nielsen , L.D. , in Riso National Laboratory , Den teknologiske udvickling
           og dens betydning for udformningen af det fremtidige energisystem ,
           Roskilde , Denmark , 1984 .
/ 50/      Photovoltaics      Program    Overview . P.D.    Maycock ,        Proc . 3rd  E.C.
           Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conférence , Cannes , France , 27~31 October ,
           1980 . pp. 10-17 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                96 .
/ 51 / M.R. Starr , The potential for photovoltaics in Europe . Proc . 4th E.C.
       Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference , Stresa , Italy , 10-14 May , 1982 .
       pp . 40-50 .
/ 52/  Neutron wall loading , power density and pay-back time K.H. Schmitter ,
       Proc . 11 Symposium on Fusion Technology , Oxford , pp 1255-1259 .
       September 1980 .
/ 53 / The fusion dilemma , R. Carruthers ,     Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
       6(2 ), pp 127-141 , 1981 .
/ 54 / The trouble with fusion , L.M. Lidsky , Technology Review ( MIT ),
       October 1983 .
/ 55 / Some critical observations on the prospects of fusion power ,
       D. Pfirsch and K.H. Schmitter , Proc . 4th Int . Conf . on Energy Options ,
       London , pp 350-355 , April 1984 .
/ 56 / Models for the assessment of research and development - Why does fusion
       get such a good press ? C.W. Hope , Proc . 4th Int . Conf . on Energy
       Options , London , April 1984 , pp 356-358 .
/ 57 / Fusion Thermonucleaire Contrôlée -
       La grande illusion , André Ertaud , Revue Generale Nucléaire , 1985 , No . 3 -
       Mai-Juin .
/ 58 / Kernfusion , Rudolf Wienecke , Bild der Wissenschaft 3 / 81 .
/ 59 / Small fusion reactors : problems , promise and pathways , Krakowski , R.A. ,
       Hagenson , R.L. , Miller ,   R.L. ,  Fusion  Technology   1984 , Proc .   13th
       Symposium pp 45-58 .
/ 60 / Fission , Fusion and the Energy Crisis ( 2nd Edition ) Hunt , S.E. , Pergamom
       Press 1980 , Chapter 8 .
/61 /  Didcot Power Station , Techieal Publications Department , CEGB Midlands
       Region .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                  97
/ 62/  The potential net energy gain from DT fusion power plants , Bilnde , R. ,
       Nuclear Engineering and Deslgn / Fuslon , 3 ( 1985 ) 1 36 .
/ 63/  Fusion Research , Dolan , T.J. , Pergamom Press 1982 .
/ 64 / Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion , J. Raeder et al . Wiley & Sons ( 1986 )
/ 65 / Encyclopaedia Britannica .
                             O
/ 66 / Lunar Source of He for Commercial Fusion Power , Willenburg , L.J. ,
       Santarius , J.F. , Kulcinski , G.L. Fusion Technology 10 ( 1986 ) pp.167 -
       178 .
/ 67 / Private communication G.J. Butterwort.h , ( 1986 ).
/ 68 / Long term planning towards a Démonstration Fusion Reactor G. Grieger
       ( Chairman ) et al.  EUR FU XII / 708 / 77 / LTP50 ( 1977 ).
/ 69 / Fusion reactor design studies - standard unit costs and cost scaling
       rules , S.C. Schulte et al , PNL-2987 , September 1979 .
/ 70 / The   costs  of  Generating Electricity         in Nuclear   & Coal Fired  Power
       Stations .   Report by Expert Group of NEA/OECD , 1983 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                  98 .
8.    GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND DEFINITION : ;
Direct Capital Cost
       The direct capital cost of a fusion power station includes the purchase of
the site , structures and site facilities , the reactor plant , and the turbine
and electrical plant ( Items 20-26 in the standard US-DOE accounting system
/ 69 /).
Spécifie Direct Capital Cost (= Unit Direct Cost )
       Direct capital cost per unit electrical power sent out (P so )
Indirect Capital Cost
         Project management , design , services , licensing and all personnel costs
during construction .
Generation Cost
       According to OECD / NEA / 70 /:
          " the   ideal  calculation will   take account of the time flows
          of    money   expended   on  constructing    the  station ,   on  its
         operation ,      on  its   fuel  and   on  subsequent     spent   fuel
         management and station decommissioning ...
         These costs will be discounted back to a selected base date
         and added together to arrive at a total cost               in present
         worth terms .
          If the total present worth cost is divided by the sum of the
          discounted     annual   electricity   output   over  the    station 's
          life , a levelised generation cost is obtained in constant
         monetary units .      If each kWh sent out from the station over
          its lifetime was sold for this " levelised cost " the income
          in present worth terms would exactly equal the total present
         worth costs of construction and operation ."
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                99 .
        Tlu; l.i;V' • I i '/.oil i-'enerat I < >n uost i:t Lli« *!•«» oxprussod by
                          Di     I+Z + M + F + R
                          N                           „ :
                           ï PSQ An8.76/ (1 +d ) n"U - b
                         n=1
where N is the plant lifetime in years , P so is the rated power sent out by the
plant (MW ) and AR is the plant average availability in year n . The cost items
in the numerator are direct ( D ) and indirect ( I ) capital costs , interest during
construction ( Z ), operation and maintenance costs (M ), fuel costs ( F ) and
decommissioning ( R ), all discounted to the date of commissioning using the
discount rate d .
Fusion Power Core ( FPC )
          Torus ( first wall / blanket / shield ), Magnets ( toroidal and poloidal field )
and their respective support structure .
Mass Expenditure ( ME )
        The mass of material needed for the FPC divided by the power sent out .
                       i
Β
        Ratio of plasma kinetic pressure to the presssure of the toroidal magnetic
field confining it .
q
         A measure of the twist of the field line - the number of times the field
lines pass round the major circumference before returning to the starting point
in the minor circumference .                     To resist gross instabilities this must be greater
than 2 at the plasma edge and above unity on axis .
g
        The    beta          level ,    i.e.      the   coefficient   in  the  scaling
6 ( % ) = g I(MA) /a(m)B(T ) where I is the plasma current , a the minor plasma
radius and B the toroidal field on the plasma axis .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      2„l»
      The ratio of mean plasma fusion power density and the product 6 B   (B is
toroidal field at the plasma centre ).    It measures the extent to which the
fusion reaction rate at the average plasma temperature is modified by spatial
variations in plasma temperature and density .