Petition to extend JET beyond 2023
Contact the author of the petition
Update: dialog with UKAEA and EUROfusion. Includes message from Sir Ian Chapman, UKAEA CEO.
2023-11-06 15:20:20Dear fusion leaders and authorities
We have now received a reply from Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKAEA. I attach it below. We have posted and re-sent the reply from Tony Donné, EUROfusion Leader, earlier, see Annoucement #3 on the petition web site https://www.petitions.net/petition_to_extend_jet .
From the point of view of this petition I would highlight Ian's statement "We are always open to potential collaborations, and if another partner brings forward a scientifically meritorious proposal with full finance, then we would discuss this, but we would need to receive such proposals very soon. "
We are grateful to Ian for opening up this opportunity. We note that also the letter from Tony Donné invites insights and contributions from the community. If any international fusion groups think there is merit to the proposal described in the petition, please inform Ian as soon as possible. Please keep us in copy.
For the time being we would like to separate the assessment of merit of the proposal from funding issues. We propose to install a W wall and gyrotrons at JET, and keep it alive for another ~10 years. We ask fusion leaders to inform Ian and ourselves of their views on this. Note the manty comments from petition subscribers: all support the proposal (894 signatures at the moment).
Ian is correct, we are describing a project likely to cost ~€100M/year for 10 years, although it can start with less. Gyrotrons, a W wall and dedicated personnel cost money.
Synergies with the UK and EUROfusion programmes may allow some funding from them, despite past decisions. But internationalization of JET may be key to unlock negotiations. And if private partners are interested, this could also prove to be very helpful.
First, let us agree on what would be desirable, beyond the present plans of UKAEA and EUROfusion.
Regards the JET petition team, jet dot petition dot 2023 at gmail dot com
From: Chapman, Ian T <Ian.Chapman@ukaea.uk>
Sent: Friday, November 3, 2023 3:02 PM
Subject: RE: Letter to Fusion Authorities, JET petition
Dear all
Thank you for your email and the passion that you clearly share for delivering fusion.
JET is a remarkable facility that has achieved remarkable things and demonstrated the benefit of many partners working together. Fusion would not be at the stage it is today without JET. ITER would not be happening, so many discoveries would not have been made, a generation of fusion experts would not have been trained and we would not have confidence to be moving forward with designs for fusion powerplants. JET has already operated for decades longer than originally anticipated due to the ingenuity and prescience of the team.
However, at the same time, we must plan for the future of fusion. Extending JET operations without upgrades would lead to only incremental science and therefore is not worth the substantial annual running costs of the facility. Enacting upgrades such as the ones you describe, whilst scientifically valuable, would take of order ten years to design, build, commission and then scientifically exploit. This would cost of order £1Bn as well as leading to greater decommissioning liability. These are costs that will not be borne by the UK government. The UK government’s fusion strategy is clear that we plan for decommissioning and repurposing of JET whilst at the same time substantially investing in the fusion sector through many new research facilities, a prototype powerplant programme and growth in the fusion industry. Cessation of JET operations is not a cause for despondency, but a transition towards an exciting future with many new facilities, research programmes and a clear mission to deliver fusion power.
In line with the government’s published fusion strategy (Towards Fusion Energy 2023: The next stage of the UK’s fusion energy strategy (publishing.service.gov.uk), UKAEA will begin the decommissioning and repurposing of JET from 1st January 2024. We have already discussed extension of JET operations at length with our EUROfusion partners who agree that it is time to plan for a future without JET. Indeed, eight years ago we discussed major upgrades to JET with the international community, exactly as you propose, but at the time when decisions for major upgrades needed to be taken. Unfortunately, we could not secure agreement for enhancements with the international community and so it was eventually decided at the EUROfusion General Assembly (with the UK in agreement) to plan for the end of scientific operations in 2023. We are always open to potential collaborations, and if another partner brings forward a scientifically meritorious proposal with full finance, then we would discuss this, but we would need to receive such proposals very soon. In the meantime, we are focussed on planning for decommissioning, itself an exciting programme essential for the future of fusion, and as such we do not have any spare resource to work on alternative plans.
Regards Ian
UKAEA Logo
Prof Sir Ian Chapman FRS FREng FInstP HonFNucl
Chief Executive Officer United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
JETforFusion
JET petition in Physics World
2023-11-04 08:12:22JETforFusion
Letter to Fusion authorities, 2nd November 2023
2023-11-02 14:28:14Esteemed international fusion leaders:
We write to you representing the fusion professionals that have signed the petition to enable the use of JET facilities for DT operations well beyond 2023, https://www.petitions.net/ petition_to_extend_jet. The petition was launched on October 16th 2023, after the ITER talk at IAEA FEC describing ITER’s new plans: a tungsten wall and dominant electron cyclotron heating. Such a dramatic ITER move changes the timeline of magnetic fusion significantly. The closure of JET in 2023 seems now premature as it would result in a skills’ shortage, and technological and scientific gaps: no equivalent fusion DT plant will be available for many years to come. Rather than closing JET at the end of 2023 and decommissioning it from 2024 (as presently planned by UKAEA), we propose the installation of a tungsten wall in JET and an ECRH system in JET, as an international collaboration.
The signatories' comments emphasize that JET is one of the most valuable assets in present day fusion, largely from its irreplaceable DT capabilities. The fusion world would benefit from using the existing JET infrastructure and facilities as an international fusion facility, with DT capabilities, a W wall and ECRH. This would provide relevant and timely experimental data from a large machine and a testbed for technology, in support of ITER and future fusion reactors anywhere in the world.
The petition has been signed by more than 800 fusion professionals in less than 3 weeks. We would highlight signatures from Paul-Henri Rebut, who built JET, Osamu Motojima, former Director of the ITER Organisation, and Jerome Pamela, former JET and EFDA Leader, amongst many others.
In consequence, representing the signatories, we address this letter to the relevant fusion authorities, with the following requests:
1. We ask the UK, the EU and the ITER Organization to evaluate the benefits of upgrading and operating JET.
2. We ask the UKAEA, current owner of the JET Facilities, to invite expressions of interest from the international fusion community.
3. We ask the international fusion community, including the ITER partners, private companies and industry, to proactively inform the UK and the EU of their interest in joining such an endeavour, specifying what they might contribute: expertise, hardware, funding. Please send such expressions of interest and proposals to the CEO of UKAEA, Sir Ian Chapman, and to the EUROfusion Programme Managers Dr. Tony Donne (2023) and Dr. Ambrogio Fasoli (from 2024), adding authorities you find appropriate in copy. We would be grateful if a copy of such expressions of interest could be sent to jet.petition.2023 at gmail dot com
Yours sincerely,
Simon Hotchin, Tokamak Operations Manager, UK
Emilia R. Solano, JET scientist, Madrid, Spain
Sergei Sharapov, JET scientist, UK
Morten Lennholm, Senior Plasma Control Expert, STEP, UK
Jef Ongena, JET scientist, Brussels, Belgium
representing the signatories of the petition, all of whom signed as individual fusion professionals, not representing the views of any institution.
Attachments: Excel with signatures up to noon 2 Nov 2023, PDF with Letter and Recipient list.
Additional information can be found in the petition web page, https://www.petitions. net/petition_to_extend_jet
Recipients
IAEA
DG: Rafael Grossi
Senior Advisor to DG: Diego Candano-Laris
UKAEA
CEO: Sir Ian Chapman
Board Chair: Lady Eithne Birt
Deputy CEO: Tim Bestwick
UKIFS:
CEO: P. Methven
Board Chair: David Gann
ITER:
Director: Pietro Barabaschi
ITER Domestic agencies: please forward to suitable contacts within the countries you represent, if not already listed.
Chinese Domestic Agency: T Fang
European Domestic Agency F4E
Director: Marc Lachaise
Board Chair: Carlos Alejaldre
ITER-India
Project Director: Ujjwal Baruah
ITER Japan Domestic Agency:
Head: M. Sujimoto
Deputy Head: T Inoue
ITER Korea:
Head: HG Lee
ITER-Russia Domestic Agency
Head Anatoli Krasilnikov
US ITER Project
Director: Kathy A McCarthy
EUROFUSION
Programme Manager (2023): Tony Donné
Programme Manager (from 2024): Ambrogio Fasoli
EUROFUSION Heads of Research Units, added in bcc.
European Commission:
EURATOM Research Head: Elena Righi-Steele
DG ENER Commissioner: Kadri Simson
DG ENER DG : Juul-Joergens
DG ENER Deputy DG: Massimo Garriba
DG RTD Commissioner: Iliana Ivanova
DG RTD Director General: Marc Lemaitre
USA contacts, DOE:
Associate Director Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences: JP Allain
Senior Advisor and Lead Fusion Coordinator: Scott C. Hsu
JETforFusion
JET petition press release
2023-10-20 15:52:56JET4Fusion
Group photo this noon 12:30
2023-10-20 05:26:24Dear supporters of the JET petition:
thank you very much for signing in such numbers. In 4 days we got more than 450 signatures! Not bad. But we need more to strengthen further our case. Do encourage your colleagues to sign this week, please.
For those of us who are at IAEA FEC, we propose to get together for a group photo tomorrow Friday at 12:30. We will meet at the ground floor of the Queen Elisabeth Convention Centre, near the door, on the side away from the cafe. If it's not raining we can move outside.
It would be wonderful if we could get a large enough group.
Beware we might release the photo to the media.
We hope you'll join us!
See you tomorrow!
JETforFusion
JETforFusion
Group photo
2023-10-19 21:21:41Dear supporters of the JET petition:
thank you very much for signing in such numbers. In 4 days we got more than 400 signatures! Not bad. But we want more. Do encourage your colleagues to sign this week, please.
For those of us who are at IAEA FEC, shall we get together for a group photo tomorrow Friday at 12:30? we propose we meet at the ground floor of the Queen Elisabeth Convention Centre, near the door, on the side away from the cafe. If it's not raining we can move outside.
It would be wonderful if we could get a large enough group.
Beware we might release the photo to the media.
We hope you'll join us!
See you tomorrow!
JETforFusion