 "A general view of the assembly hall of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Saint-Paul-les-Durance, southeastern France. Thirty-five nations, including India, are collaborating in the ITER energy project aimed at mastering energy production from hydrogen fusion, as in the heart of the sun, a potential new source of carbon-free and non-polluting energy. File image/AFP")
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Saint-Paul-lez-Durance in the south of France today (February 12), he will witness not one but two suns. One that has been blazing for billions of years. The other is being built by thousands of human minds and hands and is slowly rising.
Confused?
We are talking about PM Modi’s visit to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, which aims to prove nuclear fusion — a process constantly taking place inside our Sun and other stars — can be utilised on Earth, to produce electric energy on an industrial scale.
This attempt to ‘create a miniature Sun’ on Earth, believed to be one of the world’s most important scientific projects, is of special significance to India. Why? Because India is a key partner in the project, providing not only 10 per cent of the total cost of the project, but also contributing the biggest component, the refrigerator that houses this unique reactor.
ITER project and creating a ‘mini Sun’
The ITER project was first agreed upon by the United States, European Union, Russia, China, India, and South Korea at the Elysée Palace in Paris in 2006. Today, there are more than 30 countries collaborating on the effort.
What this project aims to do is to master nuclear fusion — a process that occurs naturally in the sun — and all stars — but is difficult to replicate on Earth. If harnessed, nuclear fusion would provide a virtually limitless form of energy that, unlike fossil fuels, emits zero greenhouse gases and, unlike the nuclear fission power used today, produces no long-life radioactive waste.
As Bernard Bigot, who led ITER for seven years before his demise said, “What we are trying to do here is actually, really very much like creating a small artificial sun on Earth. This fusion power plant will be in operation all the time. This sun, so to speak, will never set.”
But how would this work? A simple description of nuclear fusion is that it creates a mini-sun in a reactor. Two hydrogen atoms are forced together at extreme velocities to create a helium atom, along with neutrons and the release of substantial energy.
Experts at the ITER note that generating fusion energy in itself isn’t actually the hard part. It is the sustaining of it and that’s exactly what they are trying to achieve.
Scale and size of ITER
The scale and size of the ITER is unlike any other. The construction spans across 39 buildings, comparable in size to England’s Wembley Stadium. According to scientists at the site, the tokamak — the doughnut-shaped machine that uses magnetic fields to confine plasma for nuclear fusion — weighs a mammoth 23,000 tonnes — that’s the combined weight of three Eiffel towers. It comprises a million components, further differing into no fewer than 10 million smaller parts.
And to put together all of this, there are hundreds of scientists and workers belonging to around 4,500 companies.
This mega endeavour also comes with a hefty price tag. It was originally slated to cost around $5 billion. But as time progressed, the cost has ballooned to approximately $22 billion. However, the US Department of Energy has calculated that the cost is set to be three times higher, at $65 billion.
In July 2024, the reactor was fully assembled; it was initially expected to be completed by 2020. And scientists say it will fire in 2039 at the earliest. Laban Coblentz, ITER’s head of communications, speaking on the delays said, “We ran into challenges before just simply due to the complexity and the multitude of first-of-a-kind materials, first-of-a-kind components in a first-of-a-kind machine.”
India’s mark on the ‘mini sun’
But what is India’s contribution to the ITER project? Simply put, a lot.
New Delhi has been part of the ITER project since 2005 and is a 10 per cent stakeholder.
Firstly, India has committed Rs 17,500 crores, about 10 per cent of the cost while the European Union is footing 45 per cent of the project’s cost. Notably, this makes it the most expensive science effort New Delhi is participating in, reports NDTV.
Apart from footing part of the costs, 25 to 30 Indian scientists are also present at the site, contributing to the experiment.
India has also put its stamp on the ITER project by providing the crucial cryostat — which houses the nuclear reactor and helps keep it cool. It was made by Larsen & Toubro in Gujarat and is believed to be the biggest of its kind in the world. It will surround the ITER’s superconducting magnets and vacuum vessel inside the tokamak, and achieve temperatures as cold as -193 degrees Celsius. Comprising 54 units, it was sent to France in four sections for assembly in 2020.
As per the scientists involved, it weighs over 3,800 tonnes and is almost half the height of the Qutub Minar.
India has also provided cryolines for the project. These are networks of pipes that transport cryogenic liquids, like liquid nitrogen and helium, to various industrial and scientific applications.
Besides this, some other India-made components such as external heating systems for ITER plasma, vacuum vessel in-wall shields, a unique cooling water system, power supply systems, and diagnostic subsystems are all part of the project.
Earlier, Dr Tim Luce, chief scientist at ITER, in an NDTV report, called India “a valuable partner”.
India’s focus on nuclear power
India’s contribution to the ITER project underscores the importance New Delhi is placing on nuclear energy. India wants to increase its nuclear power capacity from the current 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32 and eventually 100 GW by 2047.
To achieve this, has announced that it that it would amend its Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act and the Atomic Energy Act.
Moreover, this year’s Budget has also announced the launch of a Nuclear Energy Mission, which is focused on research and development (R&D) of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The government has allocated Rs 20,000 crore for this initiative, aiming to develop at least five indigenously designed and operational SMRs by 2033.
With inputs from agencies