Status and prospects of nuclear power from fusion and from fission

Full text: The advantages of nuclear power from fusion are inexhaustible fuel resources, ecological attractiveness, inherent safety, significantly lower level of radioactive wastes, and absence of the materials which could be used for weapons. Since the 1950s the intensive work resulted in a unique scientific and technological database. In 1985 M. Gorbachev, F. Mitterand and R. Reagan suggested to create the first experimental fusion reactor on an international basis. In 1988 an international team comprising specialists of the USSR, USA, EC and Japan started activities on the design of a reactor, which was named ITER, with active support from the IAEA. An engineering design of the 500 MW reactor was completed in 2001. The negotiations concerning ITER construction have been started. Canada, Japan, France and Spain proposed options for site selection. Canada, China and the Republic of Korea have joined the countries that had pioneered the project. The ITER would have important socio-economical and political implications for the world community. The time for creating such a reactor is ripe. The nuclear power from fission is an advanced technology providing for 16% of electricity in the world. The IAEA project INPRO was started after the Russian Federation President Vladimir V. Putin stated his Initiative at the UN General Assembly in 2000. This project addresses the strategic issues of development of future nuclear energy for the world from nuclear fission. INPRO has made a conclusion that Nuclear Fuel Cycle (NFC) is a system-creating factor. Prospects of such power depend on the solution of NFC back-end problem. It is necessary to begin the formation of NFC international structures, as a major component of the world fission power system. The establishment of an international research centre on spent fuel treatment technology and on radioactive waste storage is a practical step in this direction. (author)