Cadarache or Vandellós? The European Union is in a quandary over whether to put forward the French or Spanish site to host ITER, a $5 billion magnetic fusion experiment intended to prove the feasibility of fusion energy. The decision is set for 27 November, with the final site selection, between the victorious European bid and bids from Canada and Japan, to follow within a couple of months.
In September, a European panel of experts pronounced the site bids of both France and Spain “outstanding,” and said that either of them was “likely to win the international site selection.” The panel, chaired by UK chief science adviser David King, evaluated the two sites in terms of technical and scientific properties, cost, local political and financial commitment, and other factors. The King report notes that France has the advantage of existing technical facilities and highly skilled people, while building ITER in Spain...
