The EU’s Fusion for Energy Joint Undertaking (F4E)

SUMMARY OF:

Decision 2007/198/Euratom establishing the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy and conferring advantages upon it

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DECISION?

Decision 2007/198/Euratom sets up Fusion for Energy (F4E), a European Union (EU) joint undertaking that is responsible, in particular, for the EU’s contribution to the ITER project, a large-scale international experiment set up to prove the viability of fusion energy as a new energy source.
In 2021, amending Decision (Euratom) 2021/281 secured the continuation of the European financing of the ITER project during the 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework.

KEY POINTS

The decision sets up the F4E Joint Undertaking for a period of 35 years starting on 19 April 2007.
F4E’s headquarters are in Barcelona, Spain.
F4E’s members are the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), represented by the European Commission and the 27 EU Member States.

Objectives

These are:

to provide Euratom’s contribution to the ITER international fusion energy organisation and to Broader Approach activities with Japan;
to prepare and coordinate a programme of activities for the construction of a demonstration fusion reactor and related facilities, including the international fusion materials irradiation facility.

In addition to its other activities, the main tasks of the F4E are:

to provide the ITER organisation with material, financial and human resources;
to coordinate scientific and technological research and development activities in the field of fusion;
to act as an interface with the ITER organisation.

Budget

Euratom’s contribution to F4E for the 2021–2027 period is set at €5,614 million.

Structure

F4E has legal personality and has the following structure.

A governing board, comprising representatives of F4E members. It is assisted by:
- the Bureau;
- the Administration and Management Committee;
- the Procurement and Contracts Committee;
- the Technical Advisory Panel; and
- the Audit Committee.
A director, who is responsible for representing F4E and the day-to-day running of the organisation, including signing contracts.

Liability and jurisdiction

F4E’s contractual liability is governed by the contract in question and the law applicable to it.
The Court of Justice of the EU has jurisdiction in actions and appeals brought against F4E.

Evaluation and communication

Amending Decision (Euratom) 2021/281 requires regular, timely evaluations of its implementation to be fed into the decision-making process. Once sufficient information about the implementation in the 2021–2027 period is available, the European Commission must carry out an interim evaluation by 2024 at the latest and transmit its conclusions to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.
Recipients of Community funding are required to acknowledge the origin of those funds and ensure the visibility of the funding, in particular when promoting the actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including to the media and the public.
The Commission will also implement information and communication actions relating to this decision, including about the results obtained.

FROM WHEN DOES THE DECISION APPLY?

It has applied since 19 April 2007.

BACKGROUND

European research into fusion energy has been taking place for over 40 years. The Joint European Torus project, established in 1978, contributed to advanced research in the field of fusion energy for several years. Since the mid-1980s, the development of the ITER project has represented a new stage in the field of fusion, with more and more international partners joining the project over time. Conceptual design work began in 1988, and the final design for the ITER facility was approved in 2001. Selecting a location for ITER took time. Construction of the ITER complex, at Cadarache in southern France, is currently under completion and the assembly of the tokamak* began in 2020.
For further information, see:
- Discover the benefits of fusion (Fusion for Energy).

KEY TERMS

Tokamak. A doughnut-shaped device, also called a torus, for producing controlled nuclear fusion that involves the confining and heating of a gaseous plasma by means of an electric current and magnetic field.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Decision 2007/198/Euratom of 27 March 2007 establishing the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy and conferring advantages upon it (OJ L 90, 30.3.2007, pp. 58–72).

Successive amendments to Decision 2007/198/Euratom have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

last update 16.12.2021