ITER Council approves actions to improve project management

ST PAUL-LEZ-DURANCE, France (13 February 2014) — The ITER Council, the governing body of the ITER Project, met today in extraordinary session to respond to the recommendations of the third biennial management assessment required by the ITER Agreement. After discussion at today’s meeting, the Council unanimously approved implementation of management reforms in response to all of the recommendations. These reforms cover the ITER Organization, the Domestic Agencies and the operation of the ITER Council and its subsidiary bodies to ensure that the overall ITER Project governance and management are fit for the challenges and needs of the next phases of the Project. The Council will ensure that all the reforms are properly carried out in the near- and intermediate-term. 

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, involving Europe, as the ITER host Member, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA. ITER is under construction in St. Paul-lez-Durance, in the south of France, where the Headquarters of the ITER Organization are located. 

More information on the ITER Project can be found at: http://www.iter.org/