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ITER

ITER is an international fusion experiment being assembled in southern France. The ITER Organization, an intergovernmental body with seven members, runs it. Its timeline lists research operation starting in 2034.

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What ITER is

ITER is an experimental fusion machine being assembled in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, in southern France. It is a tokamak, a doughnut-shaped device that uses magnetic fields to hold hot, charged gas called plasma. ITER says it will be the world's largest tokamak.

The ITER Organization runs the project. It describes itself as an intergovernmental organization. It acts as the project's overall integrator and as the nuclear operator of the facility. Its seven members are China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States.

The idea was proposed at a summit in Geneva in November 1985, according to ITER's history. Ministers from the seven members signed the ITER Agreement in Paris on November 21, 2006. The organization was officially established on October 24, 2007. Pietro Barabaschi has been director-general since October 17, 2022.

Why it matters

ITER is designed to produce 500 megawatts of fusion power from 50 megawatts of heating power. That would be a tenfold return. ITER says the record for fusion power in a magnetic fusion device belongs to the JET tokamak. JET made 16 megawatts from 24 megawatts of heating power in 1997.

ITER is an experiment, not a power plant. It will not generate electricity. ITER says it will prepare the way for machines that can.

The members share the cost. Europe pays 45.6 percent of construction costs. The other six pay 9.1 percent each. ITER says nine-tenths of the project's value arrives as finished components, systems or buildings, not cash.

The project is years behind earlier plans. Physics World reported in July 2024 that first operation had slipped to 2034. It called that almost a decade later than previously planned. Barabaschi said then that the new plan added 5 billion euros in cost for the ITER Organization. The members were still reviewing that figure. ITER named the Covid pandemic and repairs to key machine components as the major drivers of delay.

Recent developments

What to watch

  • The last sector module. ITER said in July 2026 that it expected to place the final module by mid-2027. The nine sectors must then be joined into one vessel.
  • The baseline. ITER's timeline page still describes the 2024 plan as a proposal. It says the council approved the overall approach. ITER's report on the November 2024 council meeting says the council endorsed it. The council also asked for more work on risks and costs. ITER's June 2026 council report refers to work under Baseline 2024.
  • The schedule. As read on October 8, 2026, the timeline lists cryostat closure in 2033 and the start of research operation in 2034. Full magnetic energy follows in 2036 and deuterium-tritium operation in 2039.

ITER timeline

  1. The ninth and last vacuum vessel sector is delivered. ITER says all the components needed to complete its core machine are now on site.

    Source: ITER Organization

  2. ITER installs the sixth of nine sector modules in the tokamak pit. It calls that almost six months ahead of schedule.

    Source: ITER Organization

  3. The ITER Council ends its 38th meeting. Members note the French regulator's agreement to exclude the vacuum vessel from pressure equipment rules.

    Source: ITER Organization

  4. The ITER Council ends its 35th meeting. It endorses the overall approach of the proposed 2024 baseline and asks for continued work to reduce risks and optimize costs.

    Source: ITER Organization

  5. Director-General Pietro Barabaschi sets out the proposed baseline. It puts deuterium-tritium operation in 2039, four years later than the 2016 plan.

    Source: ITER Organization

  6. Pietro Barabaschi starts a five-year term as the fourth director-general of the ITER Organization.

    Source: ITER Organization

  7. The ITER Organization is officially established after all members ratify the ITER Agreement.

    Source: ITER Organization

  8. Ministers from the seven members sign the ITER Agreement at the Elysée Palace in Paris.

    Source: ITER Organization

Sources

  1. In a Few Lines, ITER Organization
  2. The ITER Organization, ITER Organization
  3. History, ITER Organization
  4. A remarkable chapter draws to a close, ITER Organization
  5. Two-thirds of ITER tokamak core now in place, ITER Organization
  6. ITER Council notes continued progress across construction, commissioning, and licensing, ITER Organization
  7. New baseline to prioritize robust start to exploitation, ITER Organization
  8. Support for baseline approach, ITER Organization
  9. ITER fusion reactor hit by massive decade-long delay and €5bn price hike, Physics World
  10. Europe’s final ITER Vacuum Vessel sector delivered, Fusion for Energy
  11. Europe delivers final ITER vacuum vessel sector, World Nuclear News
  12. ITER welcomes last major component needed for core machine assembly, American Nuclear Society (Nuclear Newswire)

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