Thirty Chinese scientists are going to France to assist with the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) which is the world's most advanced nuclear fusion reactor.

Zhou Caipin, one of the scientists, said he was flying to Paris next month for the project. More than 30 countries signed up to the proposal on Tuesday.

The ITER plan is aimed at developing a clean, cheap and abundant energy source to replace fossil fuels, said Zhou, vice director of the Center for Fusion Science under the Southwest China Institute of Physics.

After months of wrangling France edged out Japan last year to become home to the 10-billion-euro (US$12.8 billion) ITER project. It'll be built at Cadarache near the southern city of Marseille.

China, the United States, South Korea, India, the European Union, Russia and Japan are participating in the ten-year project. China will fund 10 percent of the costs. 

"China will share equally the intellectual properties coming from the scientific developments and research results during the construction of the reactor and implementation of the project," Zhou said.

The seven project participants signed-up in May to the draft text of the Prospective Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project as well as the draft text of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ITER.

The project is designed to recreate the conditions of the sun under which a nuclear fusion reaction takes place and has been described as "artificial sun", explained Zhou.

China would contribute its fair share to the project and promote the development, said Xu Guanhua, Minister of Science and Technology.

Controlled nuclear fusion is seen as an efficient way to generate infinite, clean energy to replace fossil fuels like oil and coal.

Scientists believe the fuel, deuterium, can be extracted from the sea and an enormous amount of energy obtained from a deuterium-tritium fusion reaction at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius.

After nuclear fusion the deuterium extracted from one liter of sea water can produce the energy equivalent of 300 liters of gasoline.

The Chinese designed superconducting experimental Tokamak fusion device, dubbed EAST (experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak), is undergoing trials. It's the first of its kind in the world. EAST could offer research and experimental experiences for the construction of ITER, said Xu.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2006)