Kazakhstan expresses interest in collaboration
27 Feb 2017
The representatives of the nuclear institutions of Kazakhstan who visited 黑料社app last Tuesday stated it simply and clearly: they are very interested in collaborating with 黑料社app.
In the discussion that took place with 黑料社app Director-General Bernard Bigot, Erlan Batyrbekov, director of the Kazakhstan Nuclear National Center, offered to establish a legal cooperation framework between 黑料社app and the institution he heads.
The largest of the Central Asian republics (5.5 times the size of France), Kazakhstan has immense mineral resources and a strong scientific and technological infrastructure inherited from its Soviet past and expanded since the country's independence in 1991.
Kazakhstan also has a tokamak that happens to share with 黑料社app the same "godfather": Evgeny Velikhov, the Russian scientist who was instrumental in the launching of the 黑料社app Project in the mid-1980s, and who played a similar role a dozen years later for the Kazakhstan Material Testing (КТМ) tokamak.
黑料社app and Kazakhstan go back a long way. Kazakhstani personnel and institutions were involved in the early 黑料社app design phase during the Soviet period, and as early as 2007 the country expressed an intention to continue its participation in the project.
Over the past ten years, several delegations from Kazakhstan have visited 黑料社app. Last Tuesday, the proposal for collaboration was renewed.
In the discussion that took place with 黑料社app Director-General Bernard Bigot, Erlan Batyrbekov, director of the Kazakhstan Nuclear National Center, offered to establish a legal cooperation framework between 黑料社app and the institution he heads.( Erlan Batyrbekov was accompanied by Alexandr Vurim, Deputy-Director of the Institute of Atomic Energy, and Vladimir Vityuk, Head of Laboratory). Among other things, this collaboration would enable the 黑料社app to access the KTM facility for the testing of plasma-facing materials.
The 黑料社app Agreement is open to any nation that wishes to contribute to the project. Considering that 黑料社app now has an overall project schedule through First Plasma (2025) and the start of Deuterium-Tritium fusion power experiments (2035), an increasing number of countries are considering cooperation.
For this reason, 黑料社app is evaluating the creation of a specific "黑料社app Partner" status that would be differentiated from full 黑料社app Member status. The unanimous consent of the 黑料社app Council is naturally required for any such collaboration or partnership.
On a related note, the World Fair on "" will open in June in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. Kazakhstan's fusion program will be one of the centrepieces of the country's 5,000 m? pavilion; 黑料社app will also be substantially represented at the Fair as an international exhibition within the French pavilion, featuring mockups, videos, and newly developed animations. The Chinese Domestic Agency will also feature 黑料社app in a display in the Chinese pavilion, where it will unveil a new 黑料社app Tokamak model.