An associated laboratory (AL) in fusion field between Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Commission of Atomic Energy (CEA, France) is established as of July 3, 2013, to develop cooperation on their long pulse tokamaks, EAST and WEST.
The agreement of the creation of AL was signed by Prof LI, director of Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) and Dr Gabriele FIONI, Director of the Physics Science Division, CEA, in French Embassy Beijing. French nuclear counselor Pierre-Yves CORDIER hosted the signing ceremony, with Dr André GROSMA, deputy director of Institute of Magnetic Confinement Fusion Research (IRFM/CEA), counselor Assistant Mr Shunming DING, et al as witnesses.
According to the agreement, two parties create an associated laboratory of non-legal entity in order to develop cooperation on long pulse tokamaks: WEST (W environment for steady state tokamak) of CEA and EAST of ASIPP, particularly in the fields of actively cooled metallic plasma facing components; long duration plasma operation in actively cooled metallic environment, long pulse heating and current drive, ITER technology support and preparing ITER generation in the above mentioned areas.
Dr Xavier LITAUDON and Dr Yuntao SONG are appointed as the AL Co-Directors. They will be responsible for leading and coordinating the performance of the projects under the AL agreement.
“I am enthusiastic about CAS/ASIPP-CEA collaboration,” said Prof Li, “the cooperation between EAST and WEST will be good for all fusion communities”.
As a first move, ASIPP has already sent two young researchers to IRFM to work one year on WEST component design and engineering.
Prof LI & Dr Gabriele FIONI
(Image by ASIPP)
