504 



Versailles Sunalt Follow-up Meeting for Fusion 

 Brussels, 5 and 6 July 1984 



Presently envisaged Intermediate term strategy 

 of the EC fusion progranwie 



D. PALUM80 



Since t>>e beginning of the 701 es the European programme has been centered on 

 the tokamak as the main line. Our general strategy, as recommended by 

 the Becfcurts Panel In 1981 Is Illustrated In Fig. 1. 



We recognize that at least one Intermediate step between JET and DEMO Is 

 necessary. We hope, and this will depend mainly on the results of the JET 

 generation devices, that a single step will also be sufficient. This would 

 be beneficial to the programme, by reducing both delays and expenditure. 



With this objective In mind, NET was defined as a tokamak based device with 

 a strong technological component, reaching 3 MW a/m^ in neutron irradiation. 



As shown in Fig. 1 the selection between tokamaks and other magnetic 

 confinement concepts should take place between NET and DEMO. 



Our Intermediate term strategy is Illustrated in Fig. 2. This is our present 

 working hypothesis. In particular the dates must be considered as purely 

 Indicative. 



At the end of 1987, two important decisions will have to be taken on the 

 basis of JET results with powerful heating: whether to introduce tritium In 

 JET in 1989, and whether to start the detailed design of NET; 



Towards the end of 1991, on the basis of the results of deuterium-tritium 

 operation in JET, of the information from the other Tokamaks (the new 

 specialized devices will have been operational for 4 years at that time) 

 and of the progress made in technology, a decision whether to start the 

 construction of NET will have to be made. 



If JET does not reach the aim of, for example, sufficient thermonuclear 

 heating, one might decide to improve it so that it may do so. This would 

 Introduce a substantial delay in the NET schedule. It might be that JET 

 falls, for example, due to bad scaling laws, or it might be that, even if 

 JET reaches its aims, our general knowledge of tokamak physics, derived from 

 JET and the other tokamaks, remains insufficient to allow extrapolation to a 

 machine which would, with reasonable predictability, meet the physics 

 requirenents of NET. In that case, it would be necessary to construct an 

 additional intermediate step which is devoted to physics questions only. 



