JET Cooperation

Project



For the first time in the history of fusion research it was possible with JET in 1991 to release a substantial amount of energy through controlled nuclear fusion. For the duration of 2 seconds the device generated a fusion power of 1.8 megawatt. This was achieved a second time in 1993 by the American TFTR (Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor) fusion experiment at Princeton, which with a heating power of 30 megawatts released about 6 megawatts of fusion power. Five months later TFTR was able to increase this to 9 megawatts. While TFTR worked for the first time with a plasma composed of the proper reactor mix of deuterium and tritium, in 1991 JET used a "rarefied" plasma with a tritium content of only 14 per cent.

Experiments with the proper reactor mix took place in JET in 1997. This yielded a record fusion power of 13 megawatts and a fusion energy of 14 megajoules. Sixty-five per cent of the heating power input was recovered by fusion.

Today, JET is the only machine capable of operating with the deuterium-tritium fuel mixture that will be used in ITER and commercial fusion power stations.

Technical data:
Major plasma radius 2,96 metres
Minor radii 1,25/2,10 metres
Magnetic field 3,4 tesla
Plasma current 3,7 megamperes
Plasma heating 50 megawatts
Plasma volume 100 cubic metres
Plasma mixture hydrogen, deuterium, (tritium)
Plasma temperature 250 million degrees



About 350 scientists and engineers from associated laboratories across Europe and 100 international collaborators from outside Europe carry out experiments on JET within an integrated and co-ordinated European programme. The team operating JET consists of 400 scientists and engineers from Culham Centre of Fusion Energy.



The JET joint European experiment (photo: JET)