• 17 July 2007:

Didier Gambier appointed as Director of "Fusion for Energy"

On 17 July, the Governing Board of the European Domestic Agency for ITER ("Fusion for Energy") chose Didier Gambier as its Director. Mr. Gambier has extensive knowledge of the fusion community, and he has been intimately involved in the ITER negotiations. Currently he is Head of Unit for the Joint Development of Fusion in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research (DG RTD).

"I am honoured to have been appointed as the first Director of this important new European organisation", Didier Gambier said after his nomination. "With the construction of ITER and the Broader Approach Agreement with Japan, we are entering an exciting new phase of fusion energy development and I am convinced that 'Fusion for Energy' will play a key role in helping maintain Europe's strong position in fusion and support to ITER".

With a budget of around €4 billion for the first ten years, "Fusion for Energy" will play a key role in realising fusion as a possible future limitless source of energy and has been set up to provide the European contributions to the ITER International Fusion Energy project, the Broader Approach Agreement with Japan as well as to prepare for demonstration fusion reactors. Its headquarter is in Barcelona, Spain.

"Fusion for Energy" has three main objectives:

• Providing European contributions to the ITER international fusion energy research project being built in Cadarache, France;
• Providing European contributions to a number of joint projects with Japan that aim to accelerate the development of fusion - the "Broader Approach";
• Coordinating a programme of activities to prepare for the first demonstration fusion reactors that can generate electricity (DEMO).

Dr. Gambier started his scientific career at the French Commissariat pour l'Energie Atomique (CEA) and was later seconded to the JET fusion project in the UK after which he became a principal advisor for the ITER Engineering Design Activities in San Diego, USA. He subsequently became involved in the International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC) in Moscow and became its Executive Director in 2003, before taking on his current post in the European Commission in 2004. Dr. Gambier has played a leading role in the negotiations for the international ITER and Broader Approach Agreements and is responsible for managing the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA).

At the same meeting, the Governing Board also appointed Professor Carlos Varandas as its Chair and Professor Niek Lopes Cardozo as its Vice-Chair. Dr. Karl Tichmann was appointed as the Chair of the Executive Committee.

The Director of "Fusion for Energy" will lead a team of engineers, scientists and administrative personnel who will be recruited in the coming months and will be based at the offices in Barcelona, which are being set up with the strong support of the Spanish fusion laboratory CIEMAT. It is planned that "Fusion for Energy" will become operational towards the end of the year and place its first industrial contracts soon afterwards.