Nov 22, 2006

DOE Joins Five Nations in Fusion Energy Agreement

DOE joined with representatives from the European Union, China, India, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation to sign the agreement, which commits the United States to providing $1.122 billion for the construction phase. Since that amount is 9.09 percent of the total cost of the project, the project will apparently cost $12.3 billion. Eighty percent of the U.S. contribution will be components for the construction of ITER, and 20 percent will be cash to help start up the facility. DOE will also contribute 13 percent of the operating costs. According to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., which is helping to design the facility, construction will begin in early 2007. See the press releases from DOE and Jacobs Engineering.