Cooperation and Competition on the Path to Fusion Energy A Report (1984) / Chapter Skim
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INCENTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS
INCENTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS
Pages 19-33
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From page 19... ...
Achieving Program Results International cooperation makes possible a much broader and more diverse program in pursuit of its fusion goals than could be supported by any single nation within presently anticipated budget limits. The information flow available to a national program is thereby increased and broadened; there are more people working in more areas and generating more new ideas and ways of attacking problems; and the chances of generating step advances in the science and technology of 19
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From page 20... ...
that in the past capable people have come into the fusion field who might very well not have done so had the activity not offered the opportunity for international contacts. Inasmuch as fusion research and development efforts are likely to have to continue for a good number of years into the future and that the long-term vigor and viability of such programs will depend substantially on the scientific and managerial abilities of the program leaders, the broader, more diverse, and more comprehensive programs made possible by international cooperation should be an important element in attracting the most capable people to the field.
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From page 21... ...
Some duplication of effort is inevitable to satisfy the interests of national partners in acquiring "hands-on" experience, but international cooperation can substantially reduce the overall level of duplication and thereby improve the efficiency of use of everyone's limited funds. Serving Political Objectives There is a more recent incentive that has considerable meaning for government program managers and staffs.
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From page 22... ...
So, in the regime of details and specific projects, just as the incentives appear less clear and forceful, so the constraints become less important as particular ways of dealing with each one are sought and developed. Maintaining National Program Strength There is reluctance for national programs to give up any significant part, scientific or technological, of what is seen as the main line of advance toward an eventual fusion power plant.
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From page 23... ...
Preserving National Program Prestige There is a similar reluctance to give up national prestige that comes from successful technical and professional competition. It is a natural instinct of project managers, laboratory directors, and government program officers to seek to maintain and extend world leadership.
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From page 24... ...
The MFAC recommendations have been for maintenance and continuation of the U.S. base program in magnetic fusion and for early initiation of a major new facility, the Tokamak Fusion Core Experiment (TFCX)
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From page 25... ...
fusion program budget levels are to remain at current levels, or to diminish slightly as suggested by recent Congressional actions on the FY l985 budget, then the options appear to be to reduce the base program substantially to accomodate TFCX (or other major next-step tokamak) , to maintain the base program and delay indefinitely TFCX, or to seek substantial international collaboration on the next major tokamak together with some base program cuts.
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From page 26... ...
Since at least one and perhaps all of the major foreign magnetic fusion programs seem directed toward an eventual goal of controlling and marketing fusion plant technology, there may be significant problems of compatability in basic goals in agreeing on international joint ventures. The CPMP does call for a large machine, the Engineering Test Reactor (ETR)
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From page 27... ...
In general, it may be expected that the Congressional committees will act positively and decisively only when there is consensus on goals, objectives, and program content and when the costs of these are commensurate with probable benefits. Industry Executives Apart from those of a few specific firms, executives of the manufacturing industries as suppliers and the electric utilities as users of eventual fusion power systems evince polite interest in the whole subject, including international cooperation, and not much more, principally because the commercial aspects of fusion are so far in the future.
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From page 28... ...
In general, the Europeans and the Japanese seem affected by the general incentives and constraints for international cooperation in much the same way that Americans are. There is some feeling that fusion research and development budgets are not unlimited and that international cooperation, as it has in the past, can be an aid to achieving program results.
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From page 29... ...
A generally positive attitude about international cooperation was expressed by government ministry officials, by fusion program leaders, and by influential advisors. The incentive seemed in all cases to be concern about current or future Japanese financial constraints.
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From page 30... ...
Note, for instance, the concern voiced in both Japan and the EC that discussions about joint ventures in TFCX and in the next Japanese and EC machines, FER and NET, might delay those machines. Will International Cooperation Allow Us to Cover Technical Ground That We Could Not Otherwise Cover?
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From page 31... ...
What international cooperation will do in that case is to keep us well informed in a technological sense and thus help us to maintain a competitive competence among equally competent potential suppliers of future markets. If international cooperation is continued only through the phases of scientific inquiry and generic technology development, with disengagement of the partners or other common measures for protecting proprietary interests as commercialization approaches, then the cooperation need not limit the competitive advantages that can be sought and attained by any country.
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From page 32... ...
The incentives include promise of enhancement of needed technical progress, potential expansion of long-term economic benefits for each participant, possibility of saving cumulative development costs over the long term,
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From page 33... ...
Thus, on balance, there are substantial potential benefits of large-scale international collaboration in the development of fusion.
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