IP/05/834

Brussels, 3 July 2005

Commissioner Potočnik visits Cadarache, future site of ITER

European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik visited this Sunday the site in France that was earlier this week chosen to host the international fusion research facility ITER. In the company of representatives of the French government and the European fusion research community, he saluted the co-operation among all European players in fusion that had made it possible to achieve this positive outcome.

“ITER is not just a large international research project but has great importance for this region, for the EU and for the whole world” he said during his visit. ”We’ve seen with our visit to Tore-Supra today how far we’ve come already in fusion research. I am optimistic that ITER will allow us to go even further down the road to safe, clean, abundant energy.”

Also present during the visit were the French minister for Research, Francois Goulard, former European Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin and former French ministers for Research, Francois d’Aubert and Claude Haigneré, as well as the chief Administrator of the French Atomic Energy Commission, Alain Bugat and the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, Bernard Bigot.

Cadarache is situated about 60 kilometres from Marseille in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region. It currently hosts the CEA Cadarache research installation. This facility focuses on research in the nuclear fission sector, looking at how to make it more economic, more efficient and safer, at how to reduce waste and propose solutions for waste treatment in the long term. Research is also undertaken into solar energy and microbiology, looking at possibilities for biological solutions to pollution. Finally, Cadarache currently hosts Tore-Supra, one of the existing centres for fusion research.

For more information on ITER:

MEMO/05/226

www.iter.org

www.itercad.org

http://www.cea.fr/fr/thema/centres/cadarache.htm