34. European Commission Corrects Misleading ITER Power Claims
May 29, 2020
By Steven B. Krivit
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New Energy Times just learned that the European Commission has silently removed its misleading claim that “ITER will be the first experiment to generate up to 500 million watts (MW) of fusion power.”
The commission has replaced that claim about the outcome of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, known as ITER, with one that is accurate and transparent.
The commission now says that the goal of ITER is “to prove the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a future energy source.”
Three years ago, the commission said that the goal of ITER was to show that 1) “fusion energy is possible at an industrial scale” and 2) “ITER will be the first experiment to produce significant quantities of fusion energy, considerably more than required to operate the machine.”
After I published the results of my investigation in 2017 showing that the potentially usable power produced by ITER, if all goes according to plan, will be about zero — after accounting for the input power — the commission made an initial correction. It deleted the two prior claims and replaced them with two new claims.
The commission named two goals: 1) “demonstrat[ing] the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion on Earth as a sustainable energy source” and 2) “ITER will be the first experiment to generate up to 500 million watts (MW) of fusion power.”
After 2½ years and more than 20 communications between me and commissioners, commission staff members, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the former president of the European Commission, the commission now understands that ITER is not going to demonstrate fusion on Earth as a sustainable energy source and that it will not generate any practical level of thermal power from fusion. Instead, ITER may prove that fusion may be feasible, as always, as a future energy source.
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European Commission Fusion Web Page Sept. 17, 2017
“The international scientific community is now building ITER to show that fusion energy is possible at an industrial scale. … ITER will be the first experiment to produce significant quantities of fusion energy, considerably more than required to operate the machine.”
European Commission Fusion Web Page April 6, 2018 (changelog)
“The international scientific community is now building ITER, which will demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion on Earth as a sustainable energy source. … ITER will be the first experiment to generate up to 500 million watts (MW) of fusion power.”
Changes
“The international scientific community is now building ITER, to show that fusion energy is possible at an industrial scale. …ITER will be the first experiment to produce significant quantities of fusion energy, considerably more than required to operate the machine which will demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion on Earth as a sustainable energy source. ITER will be the first experiment to generate up to 500 million watts (MW) of fusion power.”
European Commission Fusion Web Page Oct. 29, 2019
“ITER is of key importance in the roadmap, as it aims to prove the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a future energy source.”
Changes
“The international scientific community is now building ITER which will demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion on Earth as a sustainable energy source. ITER will be the first experiment to generate up to 500 million watts (MW) of fusion power ITER is of key importance in the roadmap, as it aims to prove the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a future energy source.”
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For two decades, when fusion experts spoke to non-experts about the “500 MW of fusion power” that ITER is designed to produce, they didn’t explain that the 500 MW value did not account for the input power required to operate the machine. This led to the nearly universal misunderstanding about what ITER is expected and designed to do. It led the commission to publish a press release a decade ago saying that “ITER will be capable of generating 500 million watts (MW) of fusion power.” Archive Copy
The poor communications by the fusion experts caused the commission to publish a press release six years ago saying that ITER “will be the first magnetic confined fusion device which will produce more power than put into it (it is expected to provide 10 times more power than put into it).” Archive Copy
Fusion experts informed attendees at the European Commission ITER Industry Day event in 2017 that ITER would produce “500 MW of power from an input of 50 MW — a gain factor of 10.”
The worldwide extent of the misunderstandings caused by the poor communications from fusion experts is difficult to assess. At a minimum, the misunderstandings have affected most journalists who have written about ITER and most members of the public who have read or viewed thier stories. They have affected members of the European Parliament who have read incorrect statements published by staff members of the commission and the European Parliament. (Click here for examples.)
