Bernard Bigot / Courtesy of ITER Korea |
CADARACHE, France — Bernard Bigot, director general of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) International Organization, has pledged to accelerate the drive for the global fusion energy facility construction project.
In his first meeting with media since his inauguration in March, the new director general stressed the integration of member nations and a centralized decision-making process.
"My main commitment is to implement the given action plan for the project by integrating scientific capabilities of the seven member nations," Bigot said in an interview at the ITER International Organizations headquarters in Cadarache, France, Monday.
"In an international project like the ITER, a delay in making a decision causes a massive extra cost. This is why timely decision making is important."
The ITER project was launched in 2007 under a coalition of seven member nations — the European Union represented by France, the United States, Japan, China, Russia, India and Korea — to seek a joint development of fusion energy.
The biannual management assessment report on the ITER International Organization published in 2013 pointed out the slow progress of the project and urged the global body to replace its chief.
The ITER Council has recommended Bigot, who worked as the chief of the French atomic energy commission, as the sole candidate for the position in November. Bigot took office on March 5, following his predecessor Osamu Motojima.
The new director general said the member nations have longed for an early development of sustainable fusion energy but the ITER International Organization has failed to meet the expectation.
Bigot emphasized that he will push ahead with a strong, centralized decision-making process to replace the current project management principle that has been influenced by each local agencies in member nations.
"There are pending issues that have remained without a definite answer. I believe we need to make a clear decision for them," he said. "Only one should be in the driving seat of such a large international initiative as the ITER unless we want to continue debates and discussions with no outcome."
Bigot said he is focusing on consistency through efficient management. He said he is not considering a technological change in the ITER project.
"Since 1985 when the project has been decided to go in this way, many scientists and engineers have worked for it so far," he said. "I am not considering narrowing the scope of the ITER project and what it aims to demonstrate."
Each member nation of the ITER project manufactures components needed to build the fusion energy facility, and delivers what they have produced to the construction site at Cadarache to assemble them here.
The new director general said he will announce a new schedule to procure the components and plan the entire facility's construction.
"We need a common planning that can be consented by more than a thousand enterprises and the seven member nations," he said. "The main issue is to manage the organization right and make decisions on time to maintain the trust."