666 



does not contemplate the development of an industrial base for 

 the fabrication of engineering components or the construction 

 of either a demonstration or prototype power reactor; rather, 

 these tasks are left to industrial initiative. Since the other 

 ma^or fusion nations seem to consider the goal of their 

 programs to be the development of fusion power through the 

 demonstration reactor stage, including engineering component 

 development, there is a possibility that this incompatability 

 of goals could inhibit the development of cooperative 

 agreements. 

 o The Japanese, EC, and USSR program plans in magnetic fusion 

 call for engineering test reactors of roughly similar 

 objectives and characteristics. The devices are designated as 

 Fusion Engineering Reactor (FER) in Japan, Next European Torus 

 (NET) in the EC, and OTR in the USSR. These reactors would be 

 built during the 1990s, followed by a demonstration reactor. 

 The U.S. program plan, as contained in the CPMP, also calls for 

 a similar machine, ETR, to be planned during the later 1980s. 

 However, recent budgetary constraints have caused planning at 

 the technical level, as of the time of the workshop, to be 

 directed towards a less ambitious next step, TFCX, which 

 embodies the physics of ETR but few of the technological and 

 engineering testing features. 



A clear policy statement on the goals of the U.S. fusion program 

 and a corresponding firm commitment to meet those goals is a 

 prerequisite for establishing international cooperative projects on a 

 major scale. It was noted that one of the principal reasons for the 

 success of the French Super-Phenix project was a clear national policy 

 that assigned the project high priority, strong technical and 

 industrial support, and adequate financial support. It would be a 

 mistake for the United States to try to compensate for a half-hearted 

 commitment to fusion with increased emphasis on international 

 cooperation. 



Broader U.S. policy considerations may be at odds with technical 

 opportunities for cooperation: 



o The USSR has officially proposed the design and construction of 

 the next major tokamak experiment on an international basis and 

 has informally expressed a willingness to see this device sited 

 in Western Europe. Administration policy and Congressional 

 inclinations are negative towards cooperation with the Soviet 

 Union now, but this position could be reversed if East-West 

 relations change. 



o Japan would probably welcome the opportunity for further 



cooperation with the United States on engineering component 

 development and ma^or fusion projects. Congress would probably 

 be reluctant to endorse such cooperation because of political 

 sensitivity to Japanese incursions into U.S. markets and the 



