The Hindu Business Line : India to participate in global nuclear fusion plan

New Delhi, July 5 The Government has approved India’s bid to be part of an International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, which is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of controlled nuclear fusion as a source of energy generation. The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared India’s participation in the project and sanctioned an amount of Rs 2,500 crore, an official release said.

The Institute of Plasma Research has been authorised to constitute a board with the powers required for effective implementation of the project, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr P.R Dasmunshi, said after the Cabinet meeting. “Considering India’s large energy needs in future, our gaining technological capability in fusion energy will be of considerable long-term benefit,” Mr Dasmunshi said.

He said the participation in the project would allow India to advance its technological capability in fusion energy. The cost of the ITER reactor, to be built at Cadarache in southern France, is estimated at €5 billion and operating it over 20 years would cost another €5 billion. The reactor is scheduled to be completed by 2018.

While the European Union will contribute half the cost of the project, the rest is to be divided equally among the other six partners. Besides India, the partner countries are China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US.

The ITER project aims to see whether it is practicable to use nuclear fusion to produce electricity in a safe and environmentally friendly way. Nuclear fusion is a process in which atomic nuclei are fused together under controlled conditions, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. The process is viewed as being far more efficient and cleaner than nuclear fission, which is currently used in commercial nuclear power plants.

India has been trying to lower its dependence on conventional fuels to generate electricity by developing nuclear power projects and by tapping renewable sources to bridge the gap between demand and supply for power.

More Stories on : Science & Technology | Power

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page