Une accélération certaine

ITER has reached a new milestone: the first Japanese gyrotron is now in place and prepared for commissioning. Gyrotrons are powerful RF generators that produce microwaves at 170 GHz—each delivering up to 1 MW of power. These beams will heat ITER’s plasma to fusion conditions and help control instabilities. In total, ITER will host 72 gyrotrons: 48 for the Start of Research Operations another 24 for DT-1 With cabling complete and power supply in place, commissioning of the first unit begins this September. #ITER #FusionEnergy #Gyrotron #Plasma #FusionPower #BigScience #EnergyFuture #Tokamak #ScientificBreakthrough

The MCTB cryostat has set sail from ZhangJiaGang Port, China. After loading on 10 August and passing all safety checks, it is now en route to France, with arrival expected in early to mid-September. This massive component is part of the Magnet Cold Test Bench, a unique facility where ITER’s superconducting Toroidal Field coils—and Poloidal Field Coil #1 — will be tested at cryogenic temperatures near 4K before installation in the machine. #ITER #FusionEnergy #BigScience #Engineering

ITER Cryopump Reaches 5K: A Major Milestone Achieved For the first time, ITER’s cryopumps have been successfully cooled to 5 K at the Cryopump Test Facility — marking a major achievement after more than two decades of development. At this ultra-low temperature, the pumps achieved a vacuum of 10⁻⁷ Pa, equivalent to a millionth of a millionth of Earth’s atmospheric pressure. Using cryogenically cooled coconut charcoal, the system efficiently captured helium, the main exhaust gas from fusion reactions. This breakthrough not only validates a unique ITER technology, but also confirms its potential for future steady-state fusion power plants. #FusionEnergy #ITER #Cryogenics #ScientificBreakthrough #FusionTech

The #ITER Scientific Data and Computing Centre is a purpose-built digital engine room for ITER—one that combines cutting-edge computation with industrial-scale storage to support ITER’s scientific mission by enabling large-scale simulations, managing vast volumes of data, and ensuring the long-term preservation of research and engineering records. The initial infrastructure includes around 5 petabytes (PB) of high-performance storage—equivalent to over a million full-length HD movies—with rapid expansion expected as the project progresses. The ITER High-Performance Computing system comprises over 17,000 CPU cores, equivalent to the combined power of more than 2,000 laptops working in parallel. This massive computational capacity allows researchers to model plasma dynamics, simulate reactor conditions, and perform complex engineering analyses in timeframes that would be unthinkable on ordinary machines. The ITER #ScientificData and #ComputingCentre is a state-of-the-art facility designed to host up to 1 megawatt (MW) of IT equipment, distributed across 48 racks. That’s roughly the same power demand as an entire residential neighborhood, or more than 300 average family homes running at full load. The Centre features redundant power and cooling systems, multiple independent distribution paths, and the ability to perform maintenance without shutting down critical services. It is expected to operate continuously with less than 1.6 hours of downtime per year. Data is a strategic asset for ITER. During peak operations, the Data Centre is expected to manage 30–50 gigabytes per second of throughput, and daily archive volumes could reach between 90 and 2,200 terabytes, depending on the stage of the project. By around 2035, the cumulative data archive is projected to exceed one #exabyte—a billion gigabytes—making it one of the largest scientific data stores in the world. Through the infrastructure of the Scientific Data and Computing Centre, ITER’s scientific legacy will be not only created but protected, preserved, and shared with the world.

In this episode of the ITER podcast "It’s Magnetic," host Kruti and fusion analyst Jack Moore dive into the science behind ITER’s powerful superconducting magnets. With fields 250,000 times stronger than Earth’s, they can suspend superhot plasma in a perfect vacuum. Experts Christine Hoa, Simon McIntosh, Alexander Vostner, Vladimir Tronza, and Laban Coblentz explain how this invisible force field will help us recreate the power of a star—right here on Earth. 🎧 Listen now on the ITER website or your favorite podcast app. #SpotifyPodcasts #ApplePodcasts #GooglePodcasts #AmazonMusic #TuneInPodcasts #Podbean #FusionEnergy #ITERPodcast #Magnets #CleanEnergyFuture

Look up! Along ITER’s north façade, a 40 m-high ‘super scaffold’ has taken shape. Built from 4,000+ pieces, it’s here to help install the vital cooling water pipes proving that even scaffolds can be showstoppers. #iter #fusion