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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-07-iter-france-paves-fusion-energy.html
Launch of ITER's assembly phase is made possible by the arrival of components from all over the world in recent months (video: https://bit.ly/2BtoA9m) . It demonstrates the willingness of the 35 partner countries of the ITER international research project to join together in an enduring way in their common fight against climate change. Credit: ITER
French President Emmanuel Macron and leaders from the European Union, China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United States have declared the start of a new energy era today with the official start of the assembly of the world's largest fusion device at ITER in Southern France.
The ITER machine, the world's largest science project, is being assembled to replicate the fusion power of the sun. The launch of the ITER assembly phase is made possible by the arrival of components from all over the world in recent months. It demonstrates the willingness of the 35 partner countries of the ITER international research project to join together in an enduring way in their common fight against climate change.
"I heartily congratulate the ITER Project," says Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan. "I believe disruptive innovation will play a key role in addressing global issues including climate change and realizing a sustainable carbon-free society."
Fusion provides clean, reliable energy without carbon emissions. Fusion is safe, with minute amounts of fuel and no physical possibility of a runaway accident with meltdown. The fuel for fusion is found in seawater and lithium. It is abundant enough to supply humanity for millions of years. A pineapple-sized amount of this fuel is the equivalent of 10,000 tons of coal.
The cost of building and operating a fusion plant is expected to be similar to the cost of a nuclear fission plant, but without the large costs and long-term legacy of waste disposal. When ITER is finished, it is expected that it will demonstrate that fusion power can be generated sustainably on a commercial scale.
