The ITER Council was the highest decision-making body for the ITER program and organization. It was composed of four representatives from each of the seven member countries, who were authorized by their respective foreign ministries, and experts nominated according to the needs of the meeting. Its role and responsibilities were very similar to a company's board of directors.
However, unlike a company, there was no "company law" that could restrict the ITER Council's decisions.
What determined each major shareholder's voice wasn't completely based on their respective technical level and investment ratio in this field, but it was more dependent on the diplomatic strength of each country.
One had to admit that the United States had the ability to act like a bully in this regard. When the American representative first questioned the Chinese representative, the Chinese representative was quite passive during the meeting.
However, at this time, the situation was reversed.
At the Council meeting, Deputy Director Luo Zhanyuan, who was re-appointed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a clear and tough response to the American representative's request.
"… We have already fulfilled our obligations to disclose the details of the controllable fusion experiment and research progress to the ITER member countries. If we have to disclose all the technical details just because the STAR machine uses a certain technology, then I can responsibly remind you that the main control computer in the STAR machine uses an Intel chip. Before you ask the other party to be generous, shouldn't you show your sincerity first? "
After listening to the translation, Minister Adam Cohen, who was the American representative, stared at Luo Zhanyuan and said in a serious manner, "This is an unreasonable request. Intel is not a partner of ITER, and the chip technology is Intel's private property. Also, this is completely different from what we were discussing! "
Faced with Minister Cohen's aggressive tone, Luo Zhanyuan didn't hesitate to refute.
"The STAR Stellarator Research Institute and its partner companies are also not partners of ITER. The SG-1 superconducting magnet technology and the STAR machine control scheme are both private property of each company. In my opinion, this is completely different from the ITER project. "
Adam Cohen: "You guys are trying to change the topic!"
Luo Zhanyuan bluntly said, "Are you guys talking about yourselves?"
"…"
The entire meeting had basically become a "battlefield" between the Chinese and American representatives. Both sides were arguing back and forth on intellectual property issues.
The representatives of the other member countries didn't seem to be interested in participating, but it was obvious that they weren't indifferent.
Director-General Motojima Osamu, who was sitting on the conference table, suddenly sighed softly.
"Looks like this meeting is going to end on a bad note."
The representative of Japan, Ishida Keiichi, who was sitting next to him, heard this and glanced sideways at him.
"Mojima, aren't you curious about how Professor Lu did it?"
Last year, the Cray-XC50 supercomputer was officially put into service at the Rokkasho Nuclear Fusion Research Institute. It provided computing support for China's controllable fusion research and the ITER program. Even though this supercomputer only ranked around 15th on the supercomputer ranking, this supercomputer was designed for controllable nuclear fusion research, so it couldn't be compared to other general-purpose computers.
Just like Anton for computational chemistry, Cray-XC50 for plasma physics and controllable nuclear fusion research was equivalent to a large combine harvester.
It just so happened that they lacked an effective control plan. If China agreed to disclose the STAR Stellarator Research Institute's control scheme, they were confident that they could do a better job.
However, the possibility of that happening was too low.
Motojima stared at the two representatives in the morning meeting and went silent for a while. He then answered Tanaka's question.
"I really want to be curious, but I have to say that this isn't a good way to say it. The United States wants to show their strength in the ITER project, but the possibility of China compromising on this issue is very low. If Mr. Cohen continues to show his strength, the final result is likely to lead to China completely withdrawing from the ITER project. "
Ishida Keiichi asked, "Isn't that what the Americans want?"
"Not necessarily." Motojima shook his head and said, "At the very least, before China discloses this part of their research results, forcing China to withdraw from ITER isn't in the Americans' interest."
On the other hand, Zhou Chengfu, who was sitting in the expert seat, felt the gazes of the representatives from other countries. He had a complicated expression on his face.
This meeting was full of tension from the beginning, and he smelled signs of trouble before it even started.
First, it was the internal meeting in China. Then, it was the representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deputy Director Luo's tough performance at the meeting was beyond his expectations.
All sorts of signs indicated that the higher-ups seemed to have given up on ITER. It was almost foreseeable that, with the risk of being kicked out of ITER, the next funding probably wouldn't arrive on time.
As the country's attitude toward the ITER project took a sharp turn, as the director of China's International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Execution Center, he was caught in a dilemma.
Logically speaking, he didn't want to withdraw from ITER.
He paid a huge price to join ITER. If he really withdrew now, not only would that mean that all of his efforts would be wasted, but it would also mean that many domestic research institutions and ITER member countries would face the possibility of termination.
Most importantly, if China decided to withdraw from ITER, then there would be no need for the International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Execution Center to exist. Even if it was unlikely to be dissolved, restructuring was inevitable.
It was almost foreseeable that China's research in the relevant fields would be completely focused on the stellarator.
And his decades of hard work …
Zhou Chengfu's expression became more and more complicated.
Even now, he wasn't sure if he was worried about the future of China's controllable nuclear fusion industry or his own future …
…
For Lu Zhou, the drastic change in ITER wasn't a happy thing.
Originally, he planned to collaborate with the Max Planck Institute a lot. But now, it seemed that he and the Wendelstein 7-X laboratory had gone from being potential partners to potential competitors.
Lu Zhou had to admit that this change made him feel a little complicated.
However, what made him excited was that when he finally completed the plan for the liquid lithium neutron contact system, there was also good news from China National Nuclear Corporation.
Chief Engineer Wang came to Jinling again. Not only did he bring the hope of applying the ferrofluid electric energy generator to the fusion reactor, but he also brought a more detailed sketch.
Even though it was still a sketch, other than the connection port, the basic structure of the ferrofluid electric energy generator had been designed.
Lu Zhou looked at the sketch and spoke.
"There's basically no problem … Oh yeah, what's the expected energy conversion efficiency?"
Academician Wang: "The initial estimate is 50%, maybe higher. But the actual product hasn't been made yet, so it's too early to say. "
Lu Zhou was surprised, and he said, "50%? Is it that high? "
Academician Wang smiled and said, "That's just a conservative estimate. We've discussed it with the experts from the Institute of Electrical Engineering. Like you said, ferrofluid electric energy generation isn't suitable for thermal power, but it's quite feasible for nuclear fusion power generation. Let's not talk about the heating of the plasma, or the effect of coal and carbon on the efficiency of the engine. These are all problems that we can't solve for thermal power. "
Lu Zhou: "How long will it take to make the actual product?"
Academician Wang thought for a bit and said, "Probably next year. Other than the connection port, there aren't many design problems. It won't be difficult to make it."
Academician Wang smiled and said, "The generator is actually a small matter. This is a problem that can be solved with time. When the old engineers from the Institute of Electrical Engineering heard that you plan on using a ferrofluid electric energy generator for nuclear fusion, they were all eager to get started. As long as you can build the reactor, we will definitely prepare the generator for you.
"I'm a bit worried about you guys. I heard that the United States plans on kicking us out of the ITER project. This is a prelude to a technology blockade. Can you guys do it? "
When Lu Zhou heard Academician Wang's joke, he smiled.
"You guys don't have to worry about this problem. There's no point in talking. You guys will know when the time comes. "
"It seems like you're quite confident." Academician Wang looked at Lu Zhou's confident face and smiled. He said, "Speaking of which, you were born in the 1990s, right? Do you know what a technology blockade means?"
Lu Zhou said calmly, "It means that more than 20 domestic research institutes and foreign controllable fusion research institutes may be suspended. Hundreds of ongoing research projects may not be able to continue or even be canceled."
Other than that, it would also affect billions of dollars in orders, as well as hundreds of master's and doctoral degrees …
These were all things that could happen, or rather, were certain to happen.
However, so what if this was the case?
Could compromising be exchanged for equality and dignity?
At least, Lu Zhou didn't think this was the case.
"Looks like you know."
Academician Wang looked at Lu Zhou's expressionless face and gradually had a look of approval in his eyes.
Abilities were different. An excellent scientific researcher didn't necessarily become an excellent academic leader. There was a difference between a talented general and a talented general.
If it was said that he still had some doubts about this young person in charge earlier, then those doubts had been diluted by quite a bit now.
The old man looked at Lu Zhou and spoke in a serious tone.
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