Member countries of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project will sign an agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy development.

The agreement will add momentum to the project which aims to usher in an era of clean and limitless energy from nuclear fusion by 2050.

Ministerial-level representatives from seven members - South Korea, the U.S., Japan, China, Russia, India and the E.U. - will sign the pact in France on Tuesday.

The project was first agreed upon in 1985 by the U.S. and the former Soviet Union.

Over the next ten years, South Korea will foot nine percent of the total cost for building the experimental thermonuclear reactor, which is about 840 billion won.

The country will be able to begin operating a reactor in 2030, build a nuclear fusion plant and begin power generation by 2040, and start commercial service in 2050. By then, the new energy source will provide for 15 percent of the nation's energy consumption, while the global market for energy from nuclear fusion is expected to grow to 20 trillion won annually.