Russia, Italy to build experimental thermonuclear reactor

The memorandum was signed by the Russian Deputy Minister, Sergei Mazurenko, and the Italian Minister, Maria Stella Germini.

It envisions the construction of the Ignitor experimental thermonuclear reactor on the Russian territory by experts from both countries.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who addressed a news conference after talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said the memorandum ushered in a new stage in the atomic energy industry.

He especially underlined the scientific component of cooperation in this area.

The Ignitor is the latest arrival in the tokamak family of thermonuclear power-generating units.

They were conceived by the Kurchatov Nuclear Research Centre in Moscow /widely known as the Kurchatov Institute/ and are rightfully regarded as its brand produce.

Sources at the Kurchatov Institute said Ignitor, along with the ITER international thermonuclear reactor, which Russian scientists are also taking part in, is a version of an experimental power plant with ignited plasma.

Ignitor is a compact tokamak with a big induction of the magnetic field. It has been designed for studying the conditions conducive to the development of a deuterium/tritium reaction; Kazinform cites ITAR-TASS.

See www.itar-tass.com for full version