ITER Council Review Group provides external validation of project progress

The ITER Council appreciated the continuous ITER Project progress and commended the organization for keeping to the schedule, with the achievement so far of ten of the 29 milestones for 2016-17 as defined by the ITER Council in November (IC-17). 

The ITER Council reviewed the report of the ICRG and was pleased to note the following key findings: 

— The major restructuring is considered to have resulted in “substantial improvement in project performance, a high degree of motivation, and considerable progress during the past 12 months.” 
— The preparation of the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies on a new schedule and associated resource estimate for the ITER Organization were found to be complete, thus providing a good starting point for a revised schedule based on credible estimates of cost and human resources, taking into consideration the financial constraints of the Members and relying on effective sharing of staff resources between the Domestic Agencies and the ITER Organization. 
— The ongoing additional integration work being carried out by the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies further optimizes the schedule and its associated resources thus resulting in “better focus on the successful achievement of First Plasma.” 
— Regarding risk management: The “ITER Organization’s risk management approach, organization, and processes are maturing at a good pace.” 
— Regarding project culture: “The Director-General and his team are working successfully to create a project management culture at ITER.” 
— Improvements were noted in collaboration between the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies, and “further strengthening” of these relationships in a “culture of collaboration” was encouraged. 

The ITER Council accepted the ICRG report and acknowledged findings of tangible, on-schedule project performance. It acknowledged that with these converging elements a solid basis is now emerging for the establishment of the Resource-Loaded Updated Integrated Schedule up to First Plasma and a high-level paper detailing the schedule from First Plasma to Deuterium-Tritium Operation. The ITER Council charged the Director-General with completing the refinement of the schedule and associated resources presented at IC-17, following iterations with Domestic Agencies and taking into account the recommendations of the ICRG report and the known constraints of the Members, in time for submission to the ITER Council in June 2016 (IC-18). 

The Council decided that the ICRG report be released immediately for the use of each Member’s Government. 

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