The King and Queen’s support in Croatia boosts IFMIF-DONES’ international partnerships
The presence in Zagreb of the King and Queen of Spain, the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, and 14 ambassadors from different countries certifies the international support for IFMIF-DONES.
The signing of the agreement today between Diana Morant and the Croatian Minister of Science and Education, Radovan Fuchs, to strengthen the collaboration of the two countries in this clean energy project demonstrates the commitment of the Government of Spain to the implementation of IFMIF-DONES in our country, in close collaboration with the international community, and in particular with Croatia.
The agreement was adopted in the framework of the Croatia-Spain IFMIF-DONES Forum, held in Zagreb and chaired by the King and Queen of Spain and the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović. It was also attended by the director of the IFMIF-DONES Spain Consortium, Ángel Ibarra; and the director of the IFMIF-DONES Croatia Consortium, Tonči Tadić; among other authorities.
Also present at the event were the ambassadors in Croatia of the Czech Republic, Greece, Great Britain, Slovenia, Germany, Portugal, Bulgaria, Belgium, Japan, Ukraine, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria.
Among the guests were also the top representatives of the EUROfusion programme, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy and Fusion for Energy.
From the Spanish side, the signing was attended by the Spanish Ambassador in Croatia, representatives of Ineustar, CDTI, CIEMAT, CEPYME, as well as the Junta de Andalucía, Diputación de Granada, Ayuntamiento de Granada, Universidad de Granada, Cámara de Comercio de Granada and IFMIF-DONES Technical Office.
IFMIF-DONES is part of the ambitious programme that the EU is deploying to develop fusion as an energy source, in an international collaboration that includes partners from ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). It is also a key building block for Europe’s goal of constructing a Fusion Electricity Production Demonstrator (DEMO) Plant by the middle of this century.
The estimated construction and commissioning budget for IFMIF-DONES are EUR 700 million. In addition, the operating cost will be €50 million per year for the lifetime of the facility. Spain has committed to finance 50% of the construction cost and 10% of the operating cost. Croatia is responsible for 5%.
This project would create more than 1,000 jobs in Granada alone, 400 of them high-level scientific and technical personnel from all over the world, which would contribute to the revitalization of the region and the fight against depopulation.
