Fusion Energy & The ITER Project: The Next Step to a Sustainable Future

10 August 2006

Dr Barry Green

Fusion energy powers the sun and the stars, but it is yet to be tapped by man. Countries representing over half the world’s population plan to construct and operate a large experimental device, ITER (Latin for ‘the way’), to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful purposes.

In this lecture, Dr Barry Green discusses the fusion process, its advantages as a source of energy, and ITER as the next, logical step on the path to developing a fusion power producing reactor. He discusses the status of the ITER project and outline the development of fusion power beyond ITER. Finally, he considers Australia’s historical role in this field and remark on its possible development.

Broad Topics: Physical Science

Sub-topics: Physics

Areas: University

Dr Barry Green holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Sydney, involving close collaboration with experimental studies of plasma (the state of matter of fusion fuel) in the School of Physics. He worked on the design, construction and operation of the European fusion experiment, JET, located near Oxford, England. He was the JET Engineer in Charge in November 1991 when the project generated the first significant amount of fusion power in a man-made device. From 1993 he was a member of the ITER international design team in Japan.

Since March 2003 Dr Green has worked in the Directorate-General Research of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, in the Directorate of Energy. He is involved with the European fusion research and development program.

Part of the 2006 Toyota-ANU Public Lecture Series