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04-09-2006 10:00

The First Meeting of Coordination Committee for Controlled Fusion Cooperation Agreement

The first meeting of the Coordination Committee for Controlled Fusion Cooperation Agreement signed between the Kazakhstan and European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was held in the Committee for Atomic Energy of Kazakhstan on Friday, as reported Interfax-Kazakhstan Agency.

As is informed in press-release of Eurocomission Agency in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (in Almaty, Alma-ata) received by "Interfax-Kazakhstan" Agency, at the meeting "sides approved issues of cooperation under the Agreement for scientific-technical cooperation in controlled fusion and researches".

According to the information, an agreement was reached during the meeting for further Kazakhstan integration to controlled fusion international projects.

"Kazakhstan assisted in design of ITER, - as was informed, - and showed its capabilities to perform research and development (R&D) activities, introduced a number of possible projects for cooperation and expressed its interest in cooperation with ITER, accumulation of experience and knowledge in materials, proposed researches for nuclear fusion materials testing at TOKAMAK thermonuclear scientific research complex ".

EC presented results of its activity and told about Euratom program for controlled fusion.

The meeting participants visited Institute for Nuclear Physics of NNC RK in Alatau settlement near Almaty.
The next meeting of the Committee was planned to be held early in 2007.

The agreement is aimed at development of scientific cooperation between EC and Kazakhstan under conditions when negotiations for construction of ITER a large international facility for controlled fusion are coming to the end. In February 2004 Kazakhstan approved Agreement for cooperation with European Atomic Energy Community in controlled fusion executed in Brussels on November 29, 2002.

TOKAMAK thermonuclear material study reactor is expected to be commissioned in 2008.

TOKAMAK is being constructed by a team of Kazakhstan and Russian scientists under supervision of Evgeniy Velikhov, RAS Academician, President of Kurchatov Institute. TOKAMAK will be assembled in Kurchatov (East Kazakhstan region).

It is known that TOKAMAK is a part of international project for construction of the world first commercial thermonuclear reactor (ITER).

Total cost of the TOKAMAK project is $15 millions. Implementation of the project is funded by national budget of the republic and by investments from abroad.

Construction of ITER will be finished in 2012, approximate cost of the project is about $5 billion. The project is participated by European Union, India, China, Russia, USA, South Korea and Japan.

Information prepared by N.Zhdanova