§ Viscount Cranborneasked the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made agreeing a Community fusion research programme for the next five years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John MooreThe Community Research Council of 8 March agreed in principle a proposal for a research and training programme—1982–86—in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion at a cost to Community funds of some £348 million. This includes approximately £57 million remaining from the previous programme
The programme provides £179 million for completion of construction of the JET device in its basic performance, for its extension to full performance and for the operation of the device. Provision of £169 million is also made for support of a co-ordinated research programme by national laboratories of member States into aspects of fusion not covered by the JET experiment. United Kingdom participation in the Community fusion programme is undertaken by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority through its additional contribution to the JET project, for which its Culham laboratory acts as host, and through a contract of association with Euratom, under which a share of the above mentioned Community funds partialy supports the Culham laboratory's own programme.
JET is the only device in the world currently under construction that might achieve fusion. Success here would be a major breakthrough in fusion research The JET programme was at the outset conceived in two stages; the basic performance and extended performance stages. Construction of the basic device has gone ahead to time and it is expected to become operational in 1983. 114W Calculations based on experimental results from the world-wide fusion research programme gained since JET was conceived indicate the desirability of moving to the extended performance stage as soon as this is feasible. This will involve a substantial increase in the power supplied to the device with the object of demonstrating the scientific feasibility of thermonuclear fusion.
Much other research is necessary into fusion and it is desirable that in parallel with the JET experiment initial work should begin on the definition of a possible successor to JET and development of the necessary technology. Accordingly, the Community programme provides support for basic research, undertaken in national laboratories, into a number of areas relating to the confinement and heating of plasma, together with consideration of the nature of the device to follow JET and the technology that will be required to operate it.
The Community fusion research programme is an excellent example of European co-operation. Fusion is a potential energy source of great importance but the cost of developing it to the point at which it may be possible to build a commercial reactor is beyond the resources of any single European country. Accordingly, the Government wholeheartedly support the present programme, which has the twin merits of pooling resources and ensuring that the results of research are available to all participants in the programme.