In the worst-case scenario, the impact on the human would be like smoking two to three packs of tobacco a day in the life. SPECIAL

• The ITER project generates few radioactive waste

They reproduce reactions of the Sun to meet energy needs

MADRID, Spain (08/FEB/2012)-Deputy general director of the reactor international thermonuclear experimental (ITER), Carlos Alejaldre, is convinced that in the future energy needs of all humankind may be covered only thanks to solar energy and fusion.

In an interview, Alejaldre explains the status of ITER, which is built in Cadarache (South of France) and seeks to reproduce fusion reactions that take place in the Sun and other stars in order to generate energy.

“From July 2010 we are in the phase of construction of the various buildings.” “Is a much more important phase and all the partners have reiterated their commitment to the project budgets,” he stressed.

The project of more than 10 billion euros, in addition to the European Union – which takes 45% of construction costs – involves China, the India, Japan, Korea South, Russia and United States.

ITER (which in Latin means also “way”) aims to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of Fusion as an energy source and extract ten times more energy than that is introduced.

The energy of fusion, with the current nuclear reactors, is safe, because it barely produces radioactive waste and experts argue, although they had a hundred years activity, in the worst-case scenario for human impact would such as smoking two to three packs of tobacco a day of life.

Since in 2006 was born this project, the main problem you have faced, says Alejaldre, has emerged as a result of the damage that the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred in Fukusima produced in several Japanese installations.

“We are working with our Japanese partner and other partners to discuss how we could minimise the impact of this phenomenon and finally made a series of changes and we have altered the calendar.” “We’ve now seen that the impact will be reduced to one year,” says the scientist.

If the ITER project is successful, Alejaldre believes that electrical power for a machine whose operation is based in merging can enter around the year 2050.

“From the age of 40 or 50 (of this century) I would foresee a mass landing of this technology,” adventure.

Alejaldre ensures that this fact “would mean the production of electricity on a massive scale, which would probably have to see complemented by some other more flexible forms of energy”.

In addition, if this project demonstrates that you can get a cheaper electricity and is combined with an energy vector as hydrogen, “that could occur in a relatively simple way”, then will be about “a different society where oil has hardly any energy value”, stands out.

“I believe that the world in the future will focus on two sources, both solar: Fusion and solar.” “I think that with the combination of these two we can meet the needs of all humanity at any time,” he says.