Jul 25, 2025
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.