Meera Venkatesh, Director of the IAEA’s Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, opened the first ever FEC hosted by India, which through the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), is one of the 35 nations contributing to the fabrication of the world’s largest experimental fusion reactor ­– ITER.

“Innovations and enormous work are doubtlessly needed to bring us closer to realising an industrial nuclear fusion power-plant, and there is an increasingly important role for the IAEA to play as fusion research moves to the technological innovation, testing and prototype stages. We look forward to the day that fusion energy becomes a commercial reality,” she said.

With the progress and experience of ITER, increasing attention needs to be paid to important areas such as nuclear engineering, safety and radiological protection as well as security. “The IAEA is preparing to take the necessary role to support the efforts,” Venkatesh added.

The session continued with highlighting the importance of nuclear energy in India’s energy mix and the impact that mastering fusion energy production could eventually have. “Nuclear energy can be considered near-renewable and the near-renewable factor will increase with fusion thanks to the inexhaustible fuel resource," said R. Chidambaram, former director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.

“Considering the environmental sustainability requirements and that the total potential of hydro, solar and wind is only about one-fourth of the projected electricity requirements, nuclear must play a dominant role in India’s energy,” said Ravi B. Grover, Director of the Homi Bhabha National Institute.

The role of fusion research in the European Union, R&D policy and the importance of international collaboration in this field were the focus of a presentation by Patrick A. Child, Deputy Director-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission. “A broad international collaboration is a specific feature of fusion research worldwide and the signature of the ITER project. The European Commission will continue to strongly support ITER and make research efforts to prepare for DEMO. We are open to new international partners in the future to work together to put fusion firmly within the future energy landscape” he said.

Components of future fusion reactors are expected to be designed and manufactured by using advanced simulation technologies and advanced manufacturing methods, said Nawal K. Prinja, Technology Director of the Wood Group, a technology vendor from the United Kingdom. “The costs will be further reduced as there will be increased harmonization of codes and standards,” he said, adding technology readiness – the ability to move from research to prototyping to industry – will be key to the realization of fusion power.

In this area, the IAEA has recently taken initial steps to facilitate the harmonization of design rules before the technology is commercialized. The Integrated Approach to Safety Classification of Mechanical Components for Fusion Applications shows how to use knowledge from the safety classification process to determine the design, quality and manufacturing requirements of mechanical components for fusion applications.