The role of EFDA

In 1999, the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) was created to provide a framework for national fusion research parties to participate in collective activities, such as the Joint European Torus (JET), the world´s largest fusion experiment. EFDA is an agreement among all the Euratom Fusion Associations to strengthen their coordination and collaboration. It was established as a framework contract between Euratom and the Associations. EFDA runs from 1999 until at least the end of 2007, and could be extended.

The goal of EFDA is to develop the necessary scientific and technical basis in European research and industry for the construction of ITER and a prototype fusion power plant, and to strengthen the European capabilities for international cooperation. To reach this goal, EFDA coordinates the technological work carried out by European fusion labs and industry, and coordinates the European contributions to international collaborations such as ITER.

EFDA is part of a Long-Term programme of co-operation covering all the activities in the field of fusion research by magnetic confinement in the European Union and in the Swiss Confederation.

The EFDA activities

Figure 1:picture JET

EFDA is focused on joint activities of its partners. The first main activitie of EFDA is the exploitation of the Joint European Torus (JET), world´s largest fusion experiment, which is located near Oxford (United Kingdom).

Figure 2:picture R & D

The second main activity of EFDA is the coordination and support of fusion-related research & development activities carried out by the Associations and by European Industry.

Figure 3:ITER

The third activity of EFDA is to coordinate the European contribution to large scale international collaborations, such as the ITER-project, which has the EU, China, the Russian Federation, Korea, Japan, India and the US as its partners.

The EFDA Workplan includes activities and projects that aim at demonstrating in ITER the feasibility of a burning plasma relevant to fusion power plants, and at addressing several advanced technologies, such as superconductive coils, high-heat flux components, remote handling, fuel handling, and waste treatment. Two key feasibility issues for the future Demonstration Reactor (DEMO), namely tritium fuel self-sufficiency and radiation-resistant structural materials with low residual activation, are also addressed.

All these activities are complemented and guided by system studies on fusion power plants, which focus on safety and environmental issues, and socio-economic aspects of fusion. In a number of studies - such as the Socio-Economic Research on Fusion (SERF), and the Safety and Environmental Aspects of Fusion Power (SEAF) - these issues have been investigated. The Power Plant Conceptual Studies (PPCS) investigate possibilities for future fusion power stations.

Several fusion devices in the EU have contributed - and are still contributing - to the knowledge base needed for ITER. The Joint European Torus (JET) plays a unique role because the plasma it can produce has the closest similarity to the future plasma in ITER. The joint use of the JET-facilities has provided knowledge on plasma physics and plasma engineering, and has contributed in demonstrating high-performance modes of operation relevant for ITER. JET also contributes in tackling several ITER technology issues, and is used to study advanced remote handling, tritium technology, and plasma-facing materials and components.

All scientific and technical tasks that are performed by the European fusion institutions are carried out under a special framework agreement between EURATOM and its Associates: the JET Implementing Agreement. Under EFDA, such Implementing Agreements can be made for activities in specific areas. The JET facilities are operated by the UKAEA under the JET Operation Contract with EURATOM. The Associates use the JET-facilities by conducting experimental campaigns.

The EFDA Technology programme

The European Fusion Programme has two main lines of development: the Next Step Programme, and the Long-Term Programme. Since the EFDA agreement came into force (January 1^st, 1999), these programmes have been under the responsibility of the EFDA Close Support Unit Garching as an integrated EFDA Technology Programme. The wide spectrum of activities in the EFDA Technology Programme is divided in five fields, plus a number of projects, studies and other activities.

The Next Step Programme aims to develop the technologies that will allow Europe and its international partners to build a "Next Step" machine, which would demonstrate the mastery of the physics involved in producing energy from fusion in an experiment that already incorporates some of the essential technologies for a fusion power plant. This "Next Step" has now taken the shape of the ITER-project, which will be constructed in Cadarache in the South of France, in a large international collaboration. ITER has to produce and sustain burning plasmas delivering substantial amounts of fusion energy, for an extended period of time. The work in this Programme aims at fully validating the ITER design, and at making manufacturing methods better and more cost-effective.

In the Long-Term Programme, EFDA aims at developing the nuclear components and the low-activation materials needed to build a demonstration reactor (the step after ITER), allowing European industry, in the not too distant future, to supply a line of economically competitive commercial fusion power plants, safe and environmentally friendly. EFDA also explores the characteristics of such a demonstration reactor through the Power Plant Conceptual Study and evaluates its social and economic aspects via Socio-Economic Studies. In addition, the Long Term Programme addresses key issues for future commercial fusion power plants, such as tritium self-sufficiency and low-activation materials.