Petition to extend JET beyond 2023

Dear Fusion Colleagues,

Below you find a petition to form an international consortium to upgrade and extend the operation of the JET Facilities beyond 2023.

To learn how we have been faring, please read the Announcements, especially the most recent one. So far, the UKAEA has informed us that if external funding and a good programme are provided, they would be willing to consider extension, but there is no UK funding to be found for it, and time is running out. Basically, the EU Commission tells us the decision was made, JET is no longer an EU device and they won't fund it. We haven't been able yet to have those decisions re-evaluated and changed.

Time marches on and we know that critical components of the JET facility are schedulled to be dismantled in 3 weeks (we write this November 5th 2024), as part of the JET de-commissioning and re-purposing Project. European MEPs have encouraged the EU Commission to review the decision to cease EU funding for JET operation. UK University colleagues are asking the UK governemnet to at least pause the destruction of the facilities to allow time for a new arrangement to be made.

Regardless, we still invite you to sign this petition. The scientific and technological case to keep this unique multi-billion euro scientific infrastructure running is described in the award winning EPS 2024 poster https://t.ly/aGqVU and paper https://t.ly/NnLMu. JET can do things in support of ITER and fusion research in general that can't be done anywhere else. The issue is the funding, not the merit of the proposal.

Instructions on how to sign can be found after the petition text.

Be aware that the button to sign is in blue and marked "sign this petition".

Anything else is unwanted publicity that can give you the wrong impression that you signed. 

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Petition to the the international fusion community, including UKAEA, EUROfusion, the ITER partners and other private or public parties involved in developing fusion as an energy source. 

The JET facilities are unique in the world. JET has served as a test bed for new science and technology developments in support of ITER over the past decades. The dedication and expertise of the current JET team, JET’s size, its metal wall, its unique tritium licence and facilities to operate D-T plasmas, its capability to characterise fusion born neutrons and alpha particles, all make JET an extremely valuable asset for the fusion community. Its potential for fusion research is far from exhausted as demonstrated by recent fusion energy records. Studies carried out with Tritium and Deuterium-Tritium plasmas are still ongoing and expected to continue to provide extremely valuable information for next step devices.  

The current ITER re-baselining includes the installation of a full tungsten wall and increased ECRH power. In consequence, installing a full tungsten wall and an ECRH system at JET would mitigate risks for future ITER operations. Experimental open questions include, for instance, how to achieve fusion relevant ion temperatures (Ti > 10 keV) with dominant electron heating? how to optimise the transition to a high density regime with electron-ion equipartition? what is the impact of MeV-range fast ions and alpha particles on plasma transport? how would boronization impact Tritium retention and plasma operation with a tungsten wall? would no-ELM regimes and/or impurity seeding work as a power exhaust solution for next step devices with a tungsten wall and divertor?  

Refurbishing and upgrading JET such that it can operate until ITER (or other large-scale facilities) is ready would attract young talent to fusion, maintain and transfer essential know-how, and create and train an international team ready to optimise operations in next step devices. JET, an already operating facility, could provide essential information in a short time, to be adopted by future devices as they come online. 

The destruction of JET would therefore signify a serious scientific blow with a major negative impact on worldwide fusion research. 

This is not the first time that JET's future has hung in the balance. Each time in the past, its unique characteristics have prompted fusion leaders to find new ways to make it fit for new challenges. Now is the time to take a bold step forward and start the international phase of JET. EUROfusion led such an effort in 2016. This could now be used as a starting point to develop a strong proposal. Circumstances have changed radically since then: ITER is redefining its plans, and the JET facilities now belong to UKAEA. Let us reconsider the internationalisation of the JET facilities to close the gap between medium-scale tokamaks and next-stage devices, complementing international on-going initiatives.  

We, individual fusion researchers, call on the UK to invite the international fusion community to form a consortium to define a scientific case and develop a project for the renewal of JET. We call on Europe to join this effort and offer access to JET data to contributing consortium members. We call on all international fusion groups to join forces to make this visionary goal a reality.  

==== Detailed instructions on how to sign this petition ====

 A formatted pdf version can be found here: https://t.ly/nq-7U

- Click on the "Sign" or the "Show the sign form" button (on the right-hand side of this petition page) and enter your name, city, country and email address;
- Please add the affiliation (including city and country) of your Laboratory/Institute/Company in the corresponding field;

Your signature will be explicity treated as a personal one, i.e. it does not necessarily represent the opinion of the direction of your laboratory. For this reason, please add "Yes" in the field "I confirm that I sign in my personal name (Yes)"

- (Optional) You can still add further personal comments in the field "I'm signing because...";
- If you do not want your signature to be visible online, then click on the button "No";
- Choose "Yes" to confirm that you are at least sixteen years old and accept the privacy policy.

Do not forget as a final step, to confirm your signature in the email that you will receive shortly afterwards. This will ensure that the list of signatures is verified.