President Milanović at Croatian-Spanish DONES Forum: Innovation and good science have always been, and will remain, key facilitators of change

Their Majesties Felipe VI and Letizia, the King and Queen of Spain, participated in the Croatian-Spanish IFMIF-DONES Forum together with their hosts, the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović and Prof. Sanja Musić Milanović, Ph. D., the President’s wife. President Milanović and King Felipe VI addressed the participants of the Croatian-Spanish IFMIF-DONES Forum.

The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović addressed the participants at the opening of the Forum with these words:

“It is my utmost pleasure to be here today with Your Majesties for this very important event for the cooperation between our two countries, which also has a strong European dimension and deals with an area of increasing importance for the modern world.  

Scientists are warning us that we will soon need two planets to keep up with the consumption-driven growth necessary to sustain our growing population. While we agree that a shift towards more sustainable development is needed, the question remains how to achieve this. Knowledge is the key.

Croatia is a home and a birthplace of individuals who have used their knowledge, inventions, and discoveries to change the world and everyday life, but also the future of the whole mankind. Without the genius minds of Nikola Tesla, Ruđer Bošković, or Faust Vrančić, it would be hard to imagine modern everyday life. 

Many years ago, these men recognized the importance of forging international partnerships – and of exchanging ideas with their contemporaries. They knew very well that this is the only way to move forward. Not just as an individual researcher, but also as society. To sum it up: they “collaborated to innovate”.

This statement holds true even today. We must cooperate to tackle global challenges faced by our societies. Innovation and good science have always been, and will remain, key facilitators of change.

Global economic development and the climatic and geo-political risks associated with continued dependence on fossil sources have lead to a rapid growth in energy needs. This requires us to take a look at how we intend to address our energy needs in the future.

Nuclear fusion would have a multitude of benefits, which is why the world is pooling its resources to create a viable fusion-energy facility on Earth. Fusing atoms together in a controlled way releases nearly four million times more energy than a chemical reaction such as the burning of coal, oil, or gas, and four times as much as nuclear fission reactions at equal mass. Fusion has the potential to provide the kind of baseload energy needed to provide electricity to our cities and our industries.

IFMIF-DONES (The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility – Demo Oriented Neutron Source) takes part in the EU’s ambitious programme to develop fusion as an energy source, within an international collaboration that includes key partners in ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). It is also a key part for the European objective of constructing a Fusion Demonstration Power Plant (DEMO) by the middle of this century. This international project, with Granada as its European location, will create a large particle accelerator that will produce neutrons with sufficient intensity to carry out accelerated tests of the materials to be used in future nuclear fusion reactors.

Croatia and Spain, as the leading tandem of countries in this project, are ready and able to build DONES.

This project is extremely important for Croatia. A look at the European fusion map shows that notwithstanding its size, Croatia stands out both for the activities of our scientists and for the participation of our companies involved either directly or as subcontractors in the work on ITER and DONES. Scientists united in the Croatian Fusion Research Unit (CRU) coordinated by the Ruđer Bošković Institute have already demonstrated their role in global fusion research on several occasions. For example, their analysis of dust particles in the fusion reactor was crucial to the fusion energy record achieved last year at JET (Joint European Torus). In addition, Croatian fusion researchers are involved in plasma modelling for fusion reactors and in the development of materials for a fusion power plant, as RBI hosts one of four European dual-beam facilities for ion irradiation of fusion materials, putting Croatian scientists at the spearhead of fusion research, along with Germany, France and the United Kingdom in the field of ion irradiation of materials for the future DEMO fusion power plant. However, the participation of Croatian companies can, and should, be even better.

The Republic of Croatia supports and will continue to support involvement in fusion research through participation in EUROfusion, as well as by the strong presence of Croatian researchers and companies in the development of milestone international fusion projects like ITER and DONES.

Allow me finally to extend my best wishes to the success of this project, as well as to the future cooperation between our two partner countries.”

His Majesty Felipe VI, the King of Spain, said the following at the opening of the Forum:

“The ambition and sheer complexity of this task requires a truly multinational effort. Particularly, the EU has recognized the importance and urgency of investing in the research of nuclear fusion, and has been at the lead of the ITER project − in which 35 countries participate − with the objective to prove the feasibility of sustainable fusion reactions and a net energy production.

Furthermore, the establishment of the “Fusion for Energy” Joint Undertaking (the EU Agency with the biggest budget), the support to the EUROfusion Consortium and the inclusion of the IFMIF-DONES project in the road map of the “European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures” are additional proof of this European commitment.

The support from the EU institutions is indispensable, but it requires also the involvement of Member States and partners. It is certainly an enormous source of pride for us today, precisely when we are laying the foundations of this magnificent project (the IFMIF-DONES), to highlight such an ambitious and technologically advanced program as the hallmark of our bilateral cooperation with Croatia.

In 2017, Spain and Croatia united their candidatures for hosting the IFMIF-DONES facility, agreeing on Granada as the ideal location. This facility will be a complementary project to ITER, and will focus on identifying, testing and validating materials that can resist extreme temperatures and can be used in the future construction of electricity producing fusion plant. This program is proof of the importance we both − in Croatia and Spain − give to the research on viable energy sources for the future, and, at a bilateral level, it is a brilliant example of cooperation and partnership at its best between our two countries.

The MoU that our respective Ministers will sign later today will lay the basis of the IMFIF-DONES project and, perhaps, serve as model for later agreements with additional participants. Let us not forget that, although Spain and Croatia, together with the EU Commission, are giving this project its initial impulse, it meant to be a multinational project open to all members of ‘Fusion for Energy’, as well as for other partners who have shared our path in the research of nuclear fusion.

As it is often the case in scientific research, we should not measure the benefits and success of this endeavour solely by the achievement of its final objective — which remains crucial. Along the way, the capacity to generate collateral innovation and technological developments, applicable to other areas of science or industrial uses, is also a very important measure to judge both the success and cost effectiveness of such effort or investment.

As a final remark, allow me to revisit the idea I expressed at the beginning of my speech, which – in fact − lies at the heart of the DONES project: The challenges of today’s world are immensely complex and truly global. Hence, we can only meet them effectively by gathering a truly collective effort, harnessing and sharing our knowledge and creativity, and bringing together all our resources. We trust that the IFMIF-DONES project will represent a true and excellent showcase of this.

I wish you a fruitful discussion and vow for the success of the IFMIF-DONES project.”

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Kingdom of Spain on the topic of cooperation in the process of drafting the DONES Programme was signed at the Forum in the presence of President Milanović and King Felipe VI.

The project envisages a partnership between Croatia and Spain in fusion research, in addition to a partnership in the development and construction of the DONES accelerator, and a partnership between Croatian and Spanish companies in the construction of equipment for large scientific projects. The DONES project is also an opportunity for Croatian high-tech companies. In 2018, DONES was placed as a Spanish-Croatian initiative on the list of ESFRI projects that are of strategic importance for the EU.

The Forum was attended by researchers from the Ruđer Bošković Institute, Institute of Physics, representatives of universities from Zagreb and Split, ambassadors of EU member states and businesspeople. Likewise, representatives of Spanish institutions involved in the project and members of the delegation of the King and Queen of Spain were at the Forum.

PHOTO: Office of the President of Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas, Marko Beljan