3rd Public-Private Fusion Workshop: Register now

2026-02-16 - Nine gravity supports like this one, supplied by Korea, will support the vacuum vessel sectors from below. Their dual-hinged design allows for a slight expansion of the vacuum vessel in the radial direction.

2026-02-12 - These members of the CNPE team are photographed during the transfer of vacuum vessel sector #1 into tooling. The CNPE consortium (China Nuclear Power Engineering; China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Company; Southwestern Institute of Physics; ASIPP; and Framatome) is responsible for sector module sub-assembly and tokamak machine assembly.

2026-02-12 - Vacuum vessel sector #1 has landed in sub-assembly tool #2 (SSAT2). Its weight is supported by a radial beam (above) and a pillar under its lower port stub extension (below).

2026-02-12 - Vacuum vessel sector #1 is lowered into tooling by ITER's "pair of safe hands"—the 1,500-tonne bridge cranes.

2026-02-12 - The 400-tonne "bare" sector is transported over the transversal beam of the tall tool. Once it has been docked, work will begin to make it a "sector module."

2026-02-12 - Final adjustments are underway for the imminent transfer of vacuum vessel sector #1 to assembly tooling.

2026-02-11 - A (smaller) vacuum vessel gravity support is installed between two toroidal field coil supports with the help of a tool (in black) that helps to correct its angle of insertion. Both types of supports will shoulder heavy loads and also show some elasticity for different types of machine movement during operation.

2026-02-11 - This vacuum vessel gravity support is one of nine that will be installed under the lower port stub extensions of each sector module in the pit.

2026-02-09 - Vacuum vessel sector #1 has been "upended" to vertical in the Assembly Hall. Later this week, the cranes will lift it out of the specialized frame and transfer it across the way where it will be assembled with other major components to become a "sector module."

2026-02-09 - This mug seen around ITER offices features the Grad–Shafranov equation—the foundation for modelling the magnetic control of tokamak plasma. It was handwritten by ITER Emeritus Fellow Yuri Gribov, who retired late last year after working more than 18 years in the ITER Science Division. There is a personal link: as a young man in Russia, Gribov worked under Vitaly Shafranov. Read the full story here: https://www.iter.org/node/20687/story-behind-coffee-mug

2026-02-06 - Another 40° sector of the ITER plasma chamber is in the process of being upended to vertical. A free sector sub-assembly tool awaits...

2026-02-06 - An inboard thermal shield panel is lifted for transfer to vacuum vessel sub-assembly tooling. "Inboard" means that this panel will mounted on the portion of the vacuum vessel sector that is closest to the middle of the tokamak pit.

2026-02-02 - Standing 4 metres tall, with an arm that extends up to 5 metres, Godzilla is a platform for the developing and testing the tools and technologies that will be used by robots installing components inside of the completed vacuum vessel.

2026-02-02 - In the basement of the Tokamak Assembly Preparation Building, operators are busy calibrating the Godzilla robot. Two partial "force and torque" prototypes on the tabletops in the foreground.