Officials from six nations and the European Union on Tuesday signed a 10-billion-euro pact to build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor aimed at developing a cheaper, cleaner and safer energy source.
French President Jacques Chirac hosted officials from the EU, the United States, India, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia in launching the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor or ITER project in Paris.
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called it a "historic event" in the effort to phase out polluting fossil fuels.
 "From now on, we have the structure that will allow us to deal with one of the most urgent challenges for humanity: the invention of sources of clean and durable energy for tomorrow. At a time when energy demands keep rising and when climate change is dangerously accelerating, the stakes are enormous and even vital for our planet."
The reactor will be built in Cadarache in the southern French region of Provence.
The project seeks to promote the future of fusion, which reproduces the sun's power source and produces no greenhouse gas emissions and only low levels of radioactive waste.
ITER is expected to create about 10,000 jobs and take about eight years to build.
If all goes well with the experimental reactor, officials hope to set up a demonstration power plant in Cadarache around 2040.
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Director: Liu Chi