22nd ITER Council affirms project progress to achieve First Plasma in 2025

At its Twenty-Second Meeting on 20 and 21 June 2018, the ITER Council reviewed in detail the latest reports and indicators covering organizational and technical performance. The ITER Project is sustaining its strong performance and rapid pace; the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies continue to work as an integrated team to meet the challenging schedule and demanding technical requirements, anticipating and mitigating risks to stay on track for success.

— Project milestones: Since January 2016, 33 scheduled Council-approved project milestones have been achieved, including the recent commissioning of the SPIDER Neutral Beam Test Facility and the first limited access to the Tokamak pit for installation activities. Substantial progress has been made on the fabrication of technologically challenging components such as vacuum vessel sectors and toroidal field magnets, as well as on installation of the cryoplant, site service building and magnet power supply and conversion. Based on the latest performance metrics, project execution to achieve First Plasma is over 55% complete. 

— Refinements to construction strategy: The Council approved refinements to the construction strategy that will optimize equipment installation in the Tokamak Complex Building and maintain the schedule objective for First Plasma in 2025, adhering to the 2016 Overall Project Cost. The Council also supported the proposal to integrate Tokamak Complex assembly and installation activities under the ITER Organization. 

— Financial and Human Resources: The Council took note of the positive assessment of ITER Organization accounts by the Financial Audit Board, as well as the strong progress made in implementation of the Human Resources Action Plan, which has enhanced the global capacity of the ITER Organization to recruit highly qualified candidates. The Council held good discussions on the draft budget projections for the coming three years. 

— ITER Member support: The Council held candid discussions acknowledging the efforts made by each Member to reach approval of the 2016 Baseline.1 China, Europe, Japan, Korea and Russia have completed their internal consultation procedures and are ready to approve the 2016 Baseline. The Council reaffirmed the importance of all ITER Members meeting their annual in kind and in-cash commitments on a timely basis to enable successful implementation of the refinements to the construction strategy and 2016 Baseline and to achieve First Plasma in 2025.

Council Members reaffirmed their strong belief in the value of the ITER Project mission and vision to develop fusion science and technology, and resolved to work together to find timely solutions to facilitate ITER’s success. The Council congratulated the One-ITER team—the ITER Organization and seven Domestic Agencies—on the commitment to effective collaboration that has put the project on the path to success. The Council will continue to closely monitor project performance, and to provide the support needed to maintain this pace of achievement.

¹As stated in the press release of IC-19 on 27 November 2016, at that time: “The overall project schedule was approved by all ITER Members, and the overall project cost was approved ad referendum, meaning that it will now fall to each Member to seek approval of project costs through their respective governmental budget processes.”

BACKGROUND TO THE PRESS RELEASE 

ITER—designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power—will be the world's largest experimental fusion facility. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars: when light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant and environmentally responsible energy source. 

ITER is also a first-of-a-kind global collaboration. Europe is contributing almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six Members to this joint international venture (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA), are contributing equally to the rest. The ITER Project is under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, in the south of France. 

For more information on the ITER Project, visit: http://www.iter.org/

CONTACT

Laban Coblentz 
Laban.Coblentz@iter.org 
+33 6 14 16 40 85