"Back in time" Gallery
ITPA now accessible to privately funded fusion initiatives.
2025-04-28 - The International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) provides a framework for internationally coordinated fusion research activities in the ITER Members. Since a January 2025 decision by the ITPA Coordinating Committee, these research activities are open to privately funded fusion initiatives following a process that is described in this article: https://www.iter.org/fr/node/20687/itpa-and-imas-now-accessible-privately-funded-fusion-initiatives.
ITER IMAS now available under open-source licenses
2025-04-28 - As part of the ITER Private Sector Fusion Engagement program, the Director-General has approved the release of the ITER Integrated Modelling & Analysis Suite (IMAS) and Plasma Control System Simulation Platform (PCSSP) software under open-source licenses. This will allow the IMAS data model to become a worldwide standard for fusion research and lower the barriers to developing, validating, applying and contributing to it. See all information here: https://github.com/iterorganization
ITER Business Forum 2025
2025-04-24 - The ITER Business Forum returns in 2025. The eighth edition is held in Marseille, France, on 23-25 April, attracting 1,200 participants representing 630 companies. Private sector fusion firms attend for the first time.
2nd ITER Private Sector Fusion Workshop
2025-04-22 - The 2nd annual Private Sector Fusion Workshop opens at ITER Headquarters on 22 April 2025. "What we have discussed with the ITER Council, and what we intend to do at the same time as our baseline job, is to help the private sector in every way that we can," says ITER Organization Director-General Pietro Barabaschi. The central point for all requests is the Private Sector Fusion Engagement help desk at psfe@iter.org.
ITER receives the visit of President Macron and Prime Minister Modi
2025-02-12 - History is made as two heads of state—French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi—visit ITER together on 12 February 2025.
Swiss participation in ITER to return in 2026
2024-12-20 - In December, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation in 2024, confirm the completion of negotiations on a broad package of agreements that aim to “deepen and expand the EU-Switzerland relationship.” Among the agreements is one that foresees Switzerland again becoming a full member of Fusion for Energy, taking part in its governance and allowing Swiss companies and research centres to participate in ITER from 2026.
Evgeny Velikhov, 1935-2024
2024-12-09 - Russian physicist Evgeny Velikhov, a major figure in the history of fusion research and, as Mikhail Gorbachev’s friend and scientific advisor, one of the driving forces behind the creation of ITER, passes away in December 2024 at age 89.
Meeting with MEXT Minister Toshiko Abe
2024-11-26 - ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi meets with MEXT Minister Toshiko Abe in Tokyo on 26 November 2024. Discussions focus on project progress, the new ITER Baseline and staffing.
35th ITER Council: support for overall baseline approach
2024-11-21 - The Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the ITER Council concludes on 21 November 2024. The official delegations of the ITER Members endorse the overall approach proposed for the new project baseline (Baseline 2024), while requesting continued efforts to reduce risks and optimize costs. They also commend the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies for strong project execution in 2024.
Private Sector Fusion Engagement project launched
2024-11-20 - The ITER Organization is moving into the concrete phase of engaging with private sector fusion initiatives with the launch 1 November 2024 of the Private Sector Fusion Engagement project. A Help Desk (psfe@iter.org) is now available as the central coordination point for requests to access ITER documents and tools, connections to ITER experts, and technical questions. See the latest ITER Newsline for more information: https://www.iter.org/whatsnew/439
World Fusion Energy Group inaugurated
2024-11-06 - At the inaugural ministerial meeting of the World Fusion Energy Group (WFEG) on 6 November, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi takes part in a panel discussion titled "Fusion Energy: State of Play." He also delivers general remarks to the assembly and meets with IAEA Director General Grossi, European Union Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, and Italian Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin. (Photo: IAEA)
ITER Director-General visits Russia
2024-10-08 - The ITER Director-General visits Russia in October 2024, meeting with stakeholders and holding technical meetings with colleagues in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In this photo, he is meeting with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev (second from right).
Robert Aymar, 1936-2024
2024-09-30 - Robert Aymar, a French physicist who played a key role in the development of fusion research in France and worldwide, and who headed the ITER project for 10 years (1993-2003) before serving as CERN Director General from 2004 to 2008, passes away in September 2024 at age 88.
Director-General Barabaschi visits China
2024-09-05 - During a visit to China on 4-5 September 2024, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi meets with Chinese Minister of Science and Technology YIN Hejun at the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in Beijing.
34th ITER Council: Updated baseline proposal presented for evaluation
2024-06-19 - Meeting on 19 and 20 June 2024, members of the ITER Council receive a proposed update of the project baseline. The proposal designs a path to a scientifically and technically robust initial phase of operations, including deuterium-deuterium fusion operation in 2035 followed by full magnetic energy and plasma current operation.
Many public and private initiatives, one declaration
2024-05-29 - "Fusion energy for all, all for fusion energy!" By the end of the three-day Private Sector Fusion Workshop held at ITER from 27 to 29 May 2024, dozens of signatures graced the poster that declared that public and private fusion initiatives are working toward the same final objective. A potent symbol of the global fusion community's commitment for future collaboration. Photo Christian Lünig)
Advisory committee month: MAC
2024-05-23 - The ITER Council's advisory committee MAC (Management Advisory Committee) meets on 22-23 May at ITER Headquarters in advance of the June ITER Council meeting. Coming under review is the project's proposal for an updated ITER Baseline.
Advisory committee month: STAC
2024-05-13 - The ITER Council's advisory committees STAC (Science and Technology Advisory Committee) meet from 13 to 16 May at ITER Headquarters in advance of the June ITER Council meeting. Coming under review is the project's proposal for an updated ITER Baseline.
Preserving the legacy of ITER
2024-05-06 - The contributions that ITER is making to fusion physics and engineering—through decades of decisions and implementation—are delivering insights to the fusion community that likely could never have been learned in any other way. An editorial board has been charged with building a comprehensive compendium, the ITER Design Handbook, to consolidate the information.
Financial Audit Board on site
2024-04-22 - A Financial Audit Board (FAB) meets every year on site to undertake the annual audit of ITER Organization accounts in accordance with Article 17 of the ITER Agreement and the Project Resource Management Regulations. The 2024 group is pictured here with ITER Organization Deputy-Director-General for Corporate, Luo Delong (third from left).
Former French Prime Minister visits ITER
2024-03-15 - Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin tours ITER in March. In the early 2000s, he played a key role in the negotiations that led to Europe's proposal to host ITER in southern France, and to the subsequent selection of the site in 2005.
Major assembly contract signed
2024-02-29 - On 29 February, the ITER Organization signs a contract for vacuum vessel sector module sub-assembly with the CNPE Consortium (China Nuclear Power Engineering; China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Company Ltd.; Southwestern Institute of Physics; Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences ASIPP; and Framatome)—a consortium already active on site as Tokamak Assembly Contractor 1 (TAC-1). With ITER Director-General Barabaschi in the front row is: TAI Jiang, TAC-1 Project Leader; and Catherine Cornand, Senior Vice President of Framatome. Behind them is Sergio Orlandi, Head of the ITER Construction Project; SHEN Yanfeng, Vice President of the China National Nuclear Corporation; LUO Delong, ITER Deputy Director-General; DONG Guangli, Chinese Consul General in Marseille; Jens Reich, Manager of the ITER Machine Assembly Program; and Antoine Calmes, ITER Procurement Group Leader.
Director-General Barabaschi visits India
2024-02-05 - During a visit to India on 5-6 February 2024, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi meets with Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India. He also visits a major Indian supplier to ITER, Larsen & Toubro, as well as the offices of ITER India.
Joint ITER-EAST experiments: gathering data for re-baselining
2024-01-24 - In January, ITER scientists team up with colleagues at the EAST tokamak in Hefei, China, for a run of joint physics experiments. The experiments were designed to address specific ITER questions on the reliability and operability of tungsten as a plasma-facing material.
ITER and China's SWIP to collaborate
2023-12-14 - ITER Deputy Director-General for Science & Technology Yutaka Kamada and the Director General of the Southwestern Institute of Physics (SWIP) LIU Ye sign a cooperation implementing agreement on 14 December 2023 for collaboration in fusion science and technology on the HL-3 tokamak device. China's HL-3 team achieved high-confinement mode (H-mode) with a plasma current of one million amperes in August of this year and is planning deuterium-tritium burning plasma experiments within the next five years.
ITER director meets Japanese Prime Minister Kishida
2023-11-30 - Director-General Pietro Barabaschi pays a courtesy visit to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (centre) on 30 November 2023. Director Barabaschi, who travelled to Japan many times in the scope of his duties as the leader of the Europe/Japan advanced research activities for fusion carried out under the Broader Approach, is in the country for the inauguration of the JT-60SA tokamak.
A visit from the Italian Ambassador to France
2023-11-27 - The Italian Ambassador to France, Emanuela D'Alessandro, visits ITER in late November. "I am very pleased to visit one of the main research sites in the world, where we are working to recreate on Earth the same functioning mechanism as the Sun, potentially unlimited and clean. I am even more pleased to see how much Italy is present here, in terms of personnel, scientific contribution and industrial participation."
33rd ITER Council: ITER Project preparing updated baseline
2023-11-17 - The ITER Members convene in person at ITER Headquarters for the 33rd Meeting of the ITER Council on 16 and 17 November 2023. The Council noted the progress achieved on repairs to key components; ongoing manufacturing, assembly, and installation achievements; and the constructive dialogue underway with the French Nuclear Safety Authority ASN. The ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies are advancing their collaboration toward the development of an optimized, reliable cost and schedule baseline for presentation to the ITER Council in 2024.
Director-General Barabaschi visits Japan
2023-10-02 - In early October, during his first visit to Japan as the head of the ITER Project, Director-General Pietro Barabaschi meets with MEXT Minister Moriyama Masahito (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) to discuss Japan's longstanding and ongoing contributions to ITER.
ITER Council committee reviews new plans for construction and operation
2023-09-28 - The ITER Council Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) meets to review the new plans for construction and operation elaborated by the ITER Organization and Member's Domestic Agencies to minimize the impact of component repair on nuclear operation as well as to provide a more robust path to ITER licencing and to the routine demonstration of the Q=10 scientific goal.
Director-General Barabaschi visits Korea
2023-09-11 - During a visit to Korea on 11 September 2023, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi meets with Cho Seong-Kyung, the 1st Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), and expresses his appreciation for the Korean Government's and ITER Korea's active support for the ITER project.
Director-General Barabaschi visits China
2023-09-09 - In early September, during his first visit to China as the head of the ITER Project, Director-General Pietro Barabaschi meets with China's Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang. The Minister pledges to "continue to strengthen cooperation with all ITER Members to jointly respond to challenges and jointly promote the successful realization of ITER's goals."
Post-Euratom UK "open" to collaboration with EU and ITER
2023-09-07 - The government of the United Kingdom officially announces its decision to leave the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) on 7 September 2023. Severing ties with Euratom, however, does not mean ending the potential for collaboration with ITER; in a subsequent communication, the government stated that, while pursuing a domestic fusion program, it remains open to international collaboration "including with the EU and ITER."
In memoriam | Mayor Pizot
2023-07-23 - In July 2023, the ITER community mourns the passing of Roger Pizot (centre), former mayor of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance—the small village in Provence where ITER is located administratively. Mayor Pizot was instrumental in marshalling the support of local governments for siting the project in Provence. (Photo: April 2008)
French Science Minister visits
2023-06-29 - Sylvie Retailleau, French physicist and Minister of Higher Education and Research, visits the ITER construction site on 29 June 2023.
French President invited to ITER
2023-06-27 - ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi (left) meets French President Emmanuel Macron during the president's three-day working visit to Marseille on 26, 27 and 28 June 2023. He takes the opportunity to invite the President for a visit to the ITER worksite. (Also in the photo is Romain Buchaut, right, the mayor of ITER's ''hometown'' Saint-Paul-lez-Durance.)
32nd ITER Council: A focus on updating the baseline
2023-06-21 - During its June 2023 meeting, the ITER Council focuses much of its discussions on efforts underway to establish an optimized, reliable cost and schedule baseline that addresses past challenges and considers strategies to offset future risks. Council Members reaffirm their strong belief in the value of the ITER mission and resolve to work together to find timely solutions to facilitate ITER's success.
Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis president visits
2023-06-13 - Martine Vassal, president of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, visits ITER on 13 June with a small delegation. The Metropolis contributes to the ITER Project as part of its low-carbon initiatives.
WEST research supports ITER
2023-06-06 - The WEST tokamak team has completed a 14-week experimental campaign with a full ITER-like tungsten divertor. Lessons learned—both from the manufacturing of the tungsten divertor components and from the experimental campaign—will help to optimize the lifespan of the divertor at ITER.
Japanese MEXT Minister visits
2023-05-03 - On 3 May 2023 Minister Keiko Nagaoka, from Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), tours the cryoplant, the Assembly Hall and the machine assembly pit with a large party of deputies and advisors before holding a formal meeting with ITER Organization management.
Deputy Director-General for Corporate
2023-04-01 - Luo Delong, from China, has taken office as ITER Organization Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Corporate. Working closely with the ITER Director-General, he has strategic responsibility for the units responsible for quality, safety/security, communication, legal, information technology, finance, procurement, project management, and human resources.
Deputy Director-General for Science and Technology
2023-03-15 - Yutaka Kamada, from Japan, has taken office as ITER Organization Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Science and Technology. Working closely with the ITER Director-General, he has responsibility for ensuring the proper implementation of integrated technical programs and for flagging any issues that could jeopardize the on-time accomplishment of major construction and operation goals.
Europe and Korea enter partnership on tritium breeding
2023-03-08 - The Test Blanket Module Partnership Agreement signed between the European Domestic Agency, the Korean Domestic Agency, and the ITER Organization (as nuclear operator) opens the way for Korea and Europe to develop a joint test blanket module concept. Test blanket modules are the breeding elements of each of the four tritium breeding blanket systems that will be tested on ITER.
31st ITER Council: ITER project addressing challenges
2022-11-17 - The ITER Members convene in person at ITER Headquarters, or by video link, for the 31st Meeting of the ITER Council on 16 and 17 November 2022. As construction progress continues both on site and at the ITER Members, the Council took note of a number of concerns related to delivered first-of-a-kind components and corresponding corrective plans. Members reaffirmed their strong belief in the value of the ITER mission, and resolved to work together to find timely solutions to facilitate ITER's success.
All-staff meeting with the new Director-General
2022-10-19 - Director-General Pietro Barabaschi (second from right) leads the first all-staff meeting since taking office on 17 October 2022. 1,500 staff attended from across the project (on line and in person). With him on the stage (from left to right) are Domestic Agency Heads Kathy McCarthy (USA), Anatoly Krasilnikov (Russia), Kijung Jung (Korea), Makoto Sugimoto (Japan), Ujjwal Baruah (India), and European Domestic Agency Representative Juan Knaster. Luo Delong, head of ITER China, could not be present. Furthest to the right is Eisuke Tada, current Deputy of the Director-General and Head of the Office of the Director-General.
ITER Council appoints new Director-General
2022-09-15 - On 15 September 2022 at an Extraordinary Meeting in Paris, France, the ITER Council names Pietro Barabaschi as the new ITER Organization Director-General. Mr Barabaschi has been the Head of the Broader Approach Programme and Delivery for the European Union organization responsible for Europe's contribution to ITER, Fusion for Energy, since 2009. He is expected to begin his appointment in October 2022. © F4E
ITER highlights: 01/2021 - 05/2022
2022-07-25 - Covering the period from January 2021 to May 2022, the latest Progress in Pictures photobook is now available for download from the website's Publication Centre.
Distinguished visitors from Korea
2022-07-19 - Participants to the Europe-Korea Conference on Science and Technology (EKC) in Marseille take an afternoon off, on 19 July, to pay a visit to the ITER site. The 120-person-strong group is headed by Korea's Vice-Minister of Science and ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Tae-Seog Oh (right), accompanied by former Secretary-General of the United Nations (2007-2016) Ban Ki Moon (centre).
30th ITER Council: progressing in a time of challenge and transition
2022-06-15 - After two years of virtual meetings, the ITER Council convenes in a hybrid format on 15 and 16 June 2022. The delegates to the 30th Meeting note the many project achievements, including the installation of the first vacuum vessel sector module, and examine the proposed revision to the Project Baseline (schedule and cost). Re-baselining work will continue this year as the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies assess the effects of technical challenges and the pandemic, as well as possible mitigation measures.
Eisuke Tada takes over the leadership of the ITER Project
2022-05-16 - Eisuke Tada, from Japan, assumes the interim role of Director-General of the ITER Organization in the wake of the passing of Director-General Bernard Bigot. Dr Tada, former Deputy of the Director-General, is a widely respected leader in the fusion community and a seasoned veteran from ITER's earliest days.
Bernard Bigot, ITER Director-General 2015-2022
2022-05-14 - Bernard Bigot, Director-General of the ITER Organization since 2015, passes away on 14 May 2022 at the age of 72 due to illness. An inspirational leader for more than four decades across multiple fields of science and energy, his personal dedication and commitment to ITER over the past seven years shaped every aspect of the project.
ITER welcomes US Senator Manchin
2022-03-25 - United States Senator Joe Manchin (third from left) tours the ITER site on 25 March in the company of Tim Luce, ITER Chief Scientist (centre), Kathy McCarthy, Director of the US ITER Project (fourth from right), and Laban Coblentz, Head of Communication (third from right). The scale of the ITER undertaking and the international collaboration behind it inspired Senator Manchin to say, "What you are all doing here is laying the ground for world peace."
JET achieves fusion record
2022-02-09 - The EUROfusion team has achieved a first-ever sustained, high-confinement plasma on the JET tokamak using the same wall materials and fuel mix that ITER will use. The results confirm that sustained high-fusion energy production is achievable using the D-T fuel mix planned on ITER and future devices; they also show that the fusion community has the capability to model what will happen in a fusion reactor. Photo: UKAEA
ITER at the World Nuclear Exhibition
2021-12-01 - The ITER Organization joins the 2021 World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) in Paris from 30 November to 2 December. The focus of the three-day conference? The role nuclear power can and must play in the energy transition toward a low-carbon society. (European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson is seen here at the ITER stand.)
29th ITER Council: Components arriving, assembly progressing
2021-11-18 - The 29th ITER Council convenes (virtually) on 17-18 November 2021 under the chairmanship of LUO Delong from China. The project has continued to progress, with respect to both Members' best efforts for delivery of components and worksite installation and assembly activities, despite challenges including COVID-19.
Fusion and climate change: a conversation begins
2021-11-12 - Fusion enters the diplomatic Blue Zone of a United Nations Climate Change Conference for the first time with a one-hour panel "Looking to the Future with Fusion Energy" at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021. The message from scientists and engineers from the fusion energy community to world leaders is: "Fusion energy promises a step change in the way the world's future energy demands are met in a low-carbon, safe and sustainable way."
INFUSED: A clearinghouse for fusion education
2021-11-04 - On "Youth and Public Empowerment Day" at COP26, ITER and a group of global partners launch INFUSED—the International Fusion Education Initiative. The program curates quality fusion education materials and makes them available to interested students, educators and members of the public. Lectures, MOOCs, videos, virtual tours, games, DIY projects ... see all materials on the ITER webpage FOR THE PUBLIC/InFUSEd.
ITER at the IAEA General Conference
2021-09-22 - The ITER Project is represented at the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference in September 2021 by Laban Coblentz, head of Communication. Since its inception in 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has worked to foster international collaboration in fusion research and development by facilitating the exchange of scientific and technical information among its Member States.
ITER welcomes EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson
2021-09-17 - Kadri Simson, European Union Commissioner for Energy, spends Friday 17 September 2021 at ITER. In the course of her visit to key site installations and during the press conference that followed, she describes ITER as a prime example of Europe's commitment to climate neutrality by 2050.
New: ITER Talks
2021-07-27 - Beginning this autumn, the ITER Organization will be launching a new video series to inform, inspire and educate. Find all videos in the series on the ITER YouTube page (playlist "ITER Talks").
28th ITER Council: Progress despite challenging times
2021-06-17 - The 28th ITER Council convenes (virtually) on 16-17 June 2021 under the chairmanship of LUO Delong from China. The project is maintaining steady progress in machine and plant assembly despite unprecedented pressure due to the pandemic and the difficulties encountered in manufacturing some of ITER's First-of-a-Kind components.
A successful IAEA Fusion Energy Conference (FEC 2020)
2021-05-15 - The 28th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference (FEC) is held virtually from 10 to 15 May 2021, hosted by the ITER Organization and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Open to the public for the first time thanks to the technical possibilities of an all-virtual format, the conference attracts a record-setting 4,200 attendees, including both full participants and observers.
The UK will remain part of ITER
2021-01-11 - Through an agreement signed with Euratom, the United Kingdom will continue to participate in ITER post-Brexit through its membership in Fusion for Energy, the European Domestic Agency for ITER. The ITER Organization expects the continued full involvement and participation of UK citizens and UK companies.
27th ITER Council: major project achievements despite COVID-19
2020-11-19 - The 27th ITER Council is convened (virtually) from 18 to 19 November 2020 by Council Chair LUO Delong. Members note the continued robust performance of the ITER Project—including component deliveries and assembly progress on site—despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Some impacts on the schedule have been identified and will be thoroughly assessed after the consideration of all mitigation measures.
ITER makes world's "most influential projects" list
2020-11-16 - The ITER Project has been selected as one of the world's most influential projects by the Project Management Institute in its 2020 ratings. The professional organization's Top 50 list singles out "compelling efforts across industries and around the world that have achieved significant milestones" during the year.
Vacuum vessel welding: contract awarded
2020-10-22 - In October 2020, the ITER Organization concludes a contract with the Spanish company ENSA (Equipos Nucleares SA) for the welding of the ITER vacuum vessel. The scope of the new contract—called VVW2P, for Vacuum Vessel Welding Production Phase—covers the welding of 9 vacuum vessel sector sub-assemblies and 54 ports.
Canada and ITER sign Cooperation Agreement
2020-10-15 - A Cooperation Agreement is concluded on 15 October 2020 by Bernard Bigot, on behalf of the ITER Organization, and Assistant Deputy Minister Dan Costello, on behalf of the Canadian government. The Agreement sets out the terms of cooperation for the transfer of Canadian-supplied nuclear material (tritium), and tritium-related equipment and technology.
EUROfusion becomes part of the NBTF team
2020-09-18 - Under the terms of a Cooperation Agreement signed with the ITER Organization and Consorzio RFX, the European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy (EUROfusion) can provide select experts from European labs—up to 14 professionals per year (PPY)—to work on the neutral beam project at ITER's facility in Padua (and another 6 PPY to support the development of the half-size negative ion source ELISE in Garching). The ITER team welcomes EUROfusion's "strong commitment" and the "support of our European colleagues and experts in developing and operating the ITER facility."
ITER's start-of-assembly celebration
2020-07-28 - High-level representatives from all of the ITER Members join (virtually) in ITER's start-of-assembly ceremony on 28 July 2020, hosted by President Emmanuel Macron of France—each one saluting the many achievements, small and large, that have brought the project to this decisive new phase and the one-ITER team that, together, is greater than the sum of its parts.
Thanking local partners
2020-06-26 - The commitment of local French authorities and elected representatives (past and present) has been critical to ITER's genesis and progress. A concrete example—the creation of a specially adapted Itinerary for the transport of ITER components—was celebrated in the presence of a small number of guests on the day a 400-tonne magnet arrived in 26 June. "The ITER Itinerary is the vital artery that connects the ITER site to the factories, workshops and laboratories on three continents where machine components and plant systems are being manufactured. It is the project's lifeline."
26th ITER Council: Ready for machine assembly
2020-06-17 - The Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the ITER Council takes place from 17 to 18 June 2020 by videoconference. The Council commends the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies for the rapid implementation of a COVID-19 continuity plan and the continued vigorous pace and robust performance on critical activities despite the ongoing pandemic. Project execution to First Plasma is now about 70% complete.
Four Domain Heads, one single goal
2020-04-10 - Since the beginning of 2020, the ITER Organization has implemented a new construction-focused management and organizational structure, better aligned with the challenges of the assembly phase ahead. The heads of four new Domains (Construction, Corporate, Science, Engineering) are already in office.
Coping with COVID-19
2020-03-16 - Beginning 16 March 2020, the ITER Organization adjusts the organization of its work in order to respect all precautionary measures recommended by the World Health Organization and the French government in the face of the dramatic worldwide spread of the COVID-19 virus. The focus is on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of ITER staff and collaborators while maintaining critical activities. All non-essential staff is teleworking.
What does Brexit mean for ITER?
2020-01-31 - Although the United Kingdom has formally withdrawn from the European Union and Euratom, it has expressed strong interest in continuing to participate in the ITER Project. Until the terms of a new relationship can be negotiated, the ITER Council has agreed that all existing contracts—both with personnel and suppliers—shall be respected. The ITER Organization will be ready to support the arrangement identified when the parties concerned have determined a way forward.
25th ITER Council: all efforts converging toward the start of machine assembly
2019-11-21 - On 20-21 November 2019, the ITER Council meets for the twenty-fifth time since the signature of the ITER Agreement. The project is "on the path to success" thanks to the "One-ITER Team" and its "commitment to effective collaboration." This was the last ITER Council before the start of machine assembly (March 2020).
Broader Approach experience to benefit ITER
2019-11-20 - In November 2019, Japan's National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), the ITER Organization, and the European agency Fusion for Energy sign a collaboration arrangement under which the experience gained by Euratom and Japan under the Broader Approach Agreement—in particular in the assembly, installation, integrated commissioning and operation of the tokamak JT-60SA—will support upcoming activities at ITER.
Tokamak Building: civil works completed
2019-11-13 - An olive tree to celebrate the end of civil construction works. On 13 November 2019, the ITER Organization joins the European Domestic Agency and its main contractor, the VFR consortium, at the top of the Tokamak Building to celebrate the last concrete pour ... and five years of intense work and commitment.
Two major machine assembly contracts awarded
2019-09-30 - The ITER Organization has selected two international consortia to carry out Tokamak machine assembly over the next five years. The first, TAC1, is signed on 30 September 2019 (photo) with the CNPE consortium (China Nuclear Power Engineering; China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Company Ltd.; Southwestern Institute of Physics; Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences ASIPP; and Framatome). The second, TAC2, is signed on 29 July 2019 with DYNAMIC SNC consortium (Ansaldo Nucleare; Endel Engie; Orys Group ORTEC; SIMIC; Ansalso Energia; and Leading Metal Mechanic Solutions SL).
ITER at the World Energy Congress
2019-09-12 - The World Energy Congress takes place every three years to facilitate discussion on critical developments in the energy sector between ministers, CEOs, policy makers, scientists, and industry representatives from 150 countries. At the 24th edition, organized in Abu Dhabi from 9-12 September 2019, ITER was present as an exhibitor and as part of a panel session on how breakthrough technologies will drive the energy transition.
New agreement ratified for the Neutral Beam Test Facility
2019-07-25 - The ITER Organization and the Italian consortium Consorzio RFX sign a new agreement governing the construction and operation of the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility. In a first phase, testbed results will inform the procurement of components for the ITER system. After operation starts at ITER, by 2032, the facility in Padua, Italy, will be a testbed for ongoing performance enhancement.
Cryostat: 60% completed
2019-07-23 - A celebration for the completion of the cryostat base and lower cylinder is held in July 2019 in the Cryostat Workshop. The completed components, procured by India, represent 60% of total cryostat work scope.
24th ITER Council: project transitioning to machine assembly
2019-06-20 - The ITER Council meets for the twenty-fourth time since the signature of the ITER Agreement on 19-20 June 2019. The project continues to maintain a vigorous pace and robust performance, with the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies working as an integrated One-ITER team to prepare for the challenges of the machine assembly phase, which begins next year.
IAEA and ITER step up cooperation in nuclear fusion
2019-06-19 - In June 2019, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the ITER Organization deepen longstanding cooperation through the signature of Practical Arrangements. Under the new Arrangements, the ITER Organization will share its experience related to nuclear fusion safety and radiation protection with the IAEA and its 171 Member States. The two organizations will also implement educational initiatives on plasma physics and fusion engineering; coordinate public outreach activities; and cooperate in knowledge management and human resources development.
SPIDER test bed: first beam achieved
2019-05-24 - At the PRIMA neutral beam test facility in Padua, Italy, the ITER-scale negative ion source SPIDER (for Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from a Radio frequency plasma) obtains its first low-power hydrogen beam in May 2019. (Cartoon by Stefano Intini.)
Celebrating the ITER international school
2019-05-22 - The International School of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (EIPACA) was established at the start of the project to serve ITER families; today it also benefits the local community. Over one week in May, the school community celebrates 10 years in the school's permanent location, designed by the award-winning architect Rudy Ricciotti. One obligatory stop: the exposition on the ITER Project.
ITER in Da Vinci mode
2019-04-15 - Monday 15 April was Da Vinci Day at ITER, as the ITER Organization and the Consul General of Italy in Marseille co-hosted a celebration of 500 years of innovation with the support of the Italian government. Part cultural experience, part celebration of scientific investigation and industrial innovation, the event traced patterns of learning and innovation from the individual genius of Leonardo da Vinci to the collaborative inspiration of the ITER Project.
ITER Business Forum 2019
2019-03-28 - The ITER Business Forum 2019 (IBF/19) takes place from 26 to 28 March in Antibes, France, with more than 1,100 representatives from 454 companies and 25 countries. Of particular note during this seventh edition, organized to publicize business opportunities at ITER -- the more than 1,200 B2B meetings that were scheduled by companies looking to partner with others to bring their expertise to ITER contracts.
Director-General Bernard Bigot accepts a second term
2019-01-28 - In a unanimous decision, the ITER Council votes in January 2019 to reappoint Bernard Bigot to a second five-year term as Director-General of the ITER Organization (March 2020-March 2025). The contract is signed (photo) during the June 2019 ITER Council meeting.
Tradition lives on
2018-12-14 - This beautiful tree is a gift from the municipality of Saint Paul-lez-Durance (pop. 800), which hosts the ITER installation. Mayor Roger Pizot has been a strong supporter of the project since the early site negotiation days, and has delivered a holiday every year since 2012 and the inauguration of the Headquarters Building.
Cooperation Agreement with the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology
2018-11-21 - On 21 November, the ITER Organization concludes a Cooperation Agreement with the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (TINT) for the promotion of public understanding and acceptance of fusion energy. It provides for courses and lectures to young students and scientists in Thailand and facilitates visits to ITER by TINT scientists, young experts and students. (In the center of the photo, Her Royal Highness Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand.)
23rd ITER Council: Pace and performance on track
2018-11-14 - The ITER Council convenes on 14-15 November 2018 to review the performance of the ITER Project toward First Plasma in 2025. By evaluating the progress of manufacturing, construction and installation against established performance metrics, the delegates confirm that the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies are sustaining a vigorous pace and robust performance, with nearly 60% of the total work scope to First Plasma achieved.
ITER hosts the annual FuseNet PhD event
2018-11-07 - A three-day program is organized in November for 135 PhD students studying fusion science/fusion engineering in programs associated with FuseNet, the European Fusion Education Network. How many will be involved in ITER operation in 20 years? Photo: C. Roux CEA-IRFM
2018 FEC (Fusion Energy Conference) opens
2018-10-22 - More than 1,000 people were in attendance as the IAEA's Fusion Energy Conference opened in Ahmedabad, India, on 22 October. This biennial conference highlights key physics and technology issues as well as innovative concepts of direct relevance to the use of nuclear fusion as a source of energy.
The 400-page ITER plan
2018-09-17 - The ITER Science Division has released the most recent version of the ITER Research Plan, a 400-page document that describes the present vision for operating the ITER Tokamak from First Plasma through high-fusion-gain deuterium-tritium operation. The Research Plan can be consulted or downloaded at FOR SCIENTISTS/Technical Reports (bottom of each web page).
2018 Symposium on Fusion Technology opens in Sicily
2018-09-16 - One thousand scientists, engineers, industry representatives and exhibitors attend the 2018 Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT)—Europe's most important conference on the latest developments in the field of fusion, organized from 16 to 21 September in Sicily by the Italian agency ENEA. ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot delivers the keynote speech in the antique theatre of Taormina.
Senior US administration official visits ITER
2018-07-11 - In July 2018, the ITER Organization receives the visit of US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. His first-hand look at ITER construction and manufacturing will give him the insight and information needed to contribute credibly to discussions in Washington about the US role in ITER.
ITER Council reaffirms the importance of ITER
2018-06-21 - The ITER Council meets twice a year to review the most recent reports on organizational and technical performance. On 20 and 21 June, Member representatives to the Twenty-Second Meeting of the ITER Council confirm the strong performance and rapid pace of ITER construction and approve optimizations to the assembly and installation strategy that will allow the First Plasma date of 2025 to be maintained. Council Members reaffirm their strong belief in the value of the ITER Project mission and vision to develop fusion science and technology.
SPIDER test bed launched
2018-06-11 - At the PRIMA neutral beam test facility in Padua, Italy, the key technologies of ITER's powerful heating neutral beam system will be tested and qualified on two test beds. Experimental activity on the first of these test beds, SPIDER (for Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from a Radio frequency plasma), is launched in June 2018 with the successful achievement of its first plasma.
Paul Allen: "My chance to see preparations for the birth of a star on Earth"
2018-05-16 - When asked why he chose to visit the ITER construction site during a recent visit to France for the Cannes Film Festival, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (far left)—well-known for his investments in bioscience, environmental conservation, and exploration—replied, "A visit to ITER was my chance to see preparations for the birth of a star on Earth."
ITER on Macron-Trump agenda
2018-04-24 - ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot accompanies French President Macron during his state visit to Washington D.C. in late April. On the President's agenda were discussions on US support for the ITER Project. (In the picture, the President addresses the US Congress.)
Memorandum of Understanding signed with Canada
2018-04-17 - On 17 April 2018, the ITER Organization and the Canadian Minister of International Trade sign a Memorandum of Understanding. To be explored in the future are the possibilities for technical cooperation with Canadian companies and universities, including Canadian fusion experts.
Silicon Valley philanthropist Yuri Milner visits ITER
2018-04-12 - The self-described ''child of the space age" and founder, with Stephen Hawking, of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative to send probes to the Proxima Centauri system 4.37 light years away, leaves his tour of ITER impressed by the undertaking and convinced that international collaboration is the only way to make fusion energy a reality. Pursuing fusion energy, like exploring distant star systems he says, "is building the cathedrals of the 21st century."
Making the case
2018-03-06 - On 6 March 2018, the ITER Director-General testifies before the US House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Energy (Committee on Science, Space and Technology). The theme? The future of US fusion energy research including participation in ITER.
US "Burning Plasma Committee" visits ITER
2018-02-05 - February at ITER opened with a high-stakes visit from the Committee on A Strategic Plan for U.S. Burning Plasma Research. The Committee, operating under the auspices of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, has been charged with reviewing the overall state of magnetic confinement fusion research in the United States. A key outcome of the review is to be a recommended strategy for going forward—with or without ITER—in a way that preserves the US status as a leader in burning plasma research. The Committee publicly released its interim report on 21 December 2017.
Halfway to First Plasma
2017-12-06 - The ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies have collectively passed the 50 percent mark to First Plasma. With 95 percent of design work, 53 percent of manufacturing and construction, and 17 percent of shipping and deliveries completed for work scope related to initial operation, the project has passed an important milestone.
Stressing the economic benefits of ITER
2017-12-04 - The European Commission holds an ITER Industry Day on 4 December in Brussels to demonstrate that fusion is already bringing concrete opportunities for industry and has a positive effect on research and innovation. "ITER and fusion are not about dreams and science-fiction but about hard facts, real jobs, concrete technologies, buildings getting off the ground and components being manufactured," stressed the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete.
21st ITER Council affirms steady, measurable project progress
2017-11-16 - For the twenty-first ITER Council (IC-21) held since the creation of the ITER Organization, representatives from the Members meet at Headquarters from 15 to 16 November. New performance measurement capabilities and a recent Management Assessment allow the ITER Council to confirm that the ITER Project remains on track for success. Each Member continues to work to approve the project's cost baseline, as previously agreed (IC-19).
ITER celebrates a birthday!
2017-11-15 - The ITER Organization, which was established by international agreement in November 2006, formally came into existence eleven months later as ratification procedures were concluded by all Members. In November 2017, 10 years later, a birthday celebration is held at ITER Headquarters in the margins of the 21st ITER Council.
An impromptu visit
2017-11-15 - French President Emmanuel Macron makes a brief stop at the ITER stand during a visit to the exhibition zone of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, following his plenary remarks to the conference on 15 November.
Operations Network kicks off
2017-09-27 - Experts from operating tokamaks and other scientific facilities around the world have agreed to meet regularly as part of the ITER Operations Network. This group has been established to support the ITER Organization in planning for the commissioning and operational phases of the machine. The kick-off meeting was held at ITER in September.
ITER Council meets at Headquarters, reaffirms commitment
2017-06-21 - During the Twentieth ITER Council meeting in St. Paul-lez-Durance on 21-22 June 2017, the representatives of China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States reaffirm their joint commitment to the mission and vision of the Project. All Members note rapid on-site construction progress and reports on milestones successfully achieved in the delivery of components.
Cooperation Agreement signed with Kazakhstan
2017-06-11 - The ITER Organization signs the second non-Member technical Cooperation Agreement of its history on 11 June 2017 with the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Agreement opens the way to the exchange of technical experts, access to Kazakhstan's KTM tokamak for materials testing, and the development of diagnostics for ITER. (The second non-Member agreement was signed in September 2016 with Australia.)
State Minister of MEXT (Japan) tours ITER
2017-05-03 - Japan's State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Toshiei Mizuochi, visits ITER at the beginning of May. He is accompanied on site by ITER Deputy Director-General Eisuke Tada and Director-General Bigot (blue hats).
ITER Business Forum 2017
2017-03-29 - Over 1,000 people attend the 2017 ITER Business Forum in Avignon, France from 28 to 30 March, an event organized to familiarize company representatives with upcoming business opportunities linked to ITER construction. The 2017 event takes place in the historic Palais des Papes in Avignon, France.
A delegation from Portugal
2017-02-06 - Portugal's Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education—Manuel Heitor (centre, smiling)—visits ITER on 6 February 2017 with a delegation of 20 researchers, technologists and entrepreneurs. The purpose of the visit is to stimulate new business opportunities and increase Portuguese participation in ITER.
ITER Council endorses overall project schedule
2016-11-16 - During the Nineteenth ITER Council meeting in St. Paul-lez-Durance on 16-17 November 2016, the ITER Council approves the overall project schedule through nuclear-phase operations (2035) and approves the overall project cost "ad referendum" (subject to national approval processes).
UK Atomic Energy Authority's new CEO spends a day at ITER
2016-11-10 - The new Chief Executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Ian Chapman (middle), visits ITER on 10 November. Professor Chapman is in charge of the UK's magnetic confinement fusion research program at the Culham Science Centre (JET and MAST tokamaks) and of fusion-relevant high-tech activities like materials research and robotics.
Technical cooperation agreement signed with Australia
2016-09-30 - With the signature of a Cooperation Agreement on 30 September 2016, a framework is now in place between the ITER Organization and Australia for technical cooperation in areas of mutual interest and benefit. Representing the Australian fusion community for the purposes of the agreement is ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation), Australia's national nuclear research and development organization.
Provence Region pledges an extra EUR 43 million to ITER
2016-09-15 - When Cadarache was chosen as the site for ITER in 2005, the local PACA region (for Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), the six departments that make up the PACA region, and the greater Aix-en-Provence metropolitan area pledged monetary support to the project over a period of ten years. In September 2016, during a meeting of the funders at ITER, an additional contribution is pledged by the president of the PACA region, Christian Estrosi (second from left).
Welcoming the head of the IAEA
2016-09-06 - Visiting ITER for the second time in five years, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, measures the progress in construction and manufacturing. "ITER's impressive work is crucial to advancing research in [fusion]. We look forward to our continued collaboration with ITER towards facilitating fusion research." Since the late 1980s, the IAEA has provided a forum for collaboration among countries interested in demonstrating the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful purposes.
High-level Iranian delegation visits ITER worksite
2016-07-01 - On 1 July 2016, a delegation of Iranian nuclear specialists and government officials—including two of the Republic's twelve vice presidents—visit ITER. The object of their visit? To better understand the nature and scope of the project and the status of manufacturing and construction. Iran has a longstanding research program focused on various approaches to fusion and applications of plasma technology.
Mega contract to manage assembly and installation
2016-06-28 - In June 2016, the ITER Organization signs a EUR 174 million construction management contract with the MOMENTUM consortium, led by Amec Foster Wheeler (UK) in partnership with Assystem (France) and KEPCO Engineering and Construction (Korea). Working as part of the ITER Organization construction team, MOMENTUM will coordinate and supervise the assembly-phase work.
ITER Council validates schedule focusing on First Plasma
2016-06-15 - During a two-day meeting on 15-16 June 2016, the ITER Council endorses a Resource-Loaded Integrated Schedule for the project as proposed by the ITER Organization. This schedule focuses on the achievement of First Plasma in December 2025.
Extraordinary ITER Council confirms that ITER is on track
2016-04-27 - The ITER Council meets for an extraordinary session on 27 April 2016 in Paris to receive the assessment of the ITER Council Independent Review Group on the updated project schedule and associated resources. The Council concludes that the report provides the external validation necessary to continue on to the final refinement of the schedule, to be presented at the ITER Council in June. Photo Arnaud Calais
A testimonial before the US House of Representatives
2016-04-20 - On 20 April 2016, Director-General Bernard Bigot testifies on the status of the ITER Project before the Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Energy of the US House of Representatives. He gives an account of the sweeping changes set into place in 2015 and emphasizes the importance of ITER to the advancement of magnetic confinement fusion.
Monaco-ITER Fusion Energy Days, third edition
2016-02-08 - For the third time, actors from the worlds of energy, high technology, fusion and industry gather in Monaco for a four-day program dedicated to informing industry about the challenges of ITER components and systems and the business opportunities ahead. Some 578 participants from 283 companies attend MIIFED-IBF 2016 (for the Monaco-ITER International Fusion Energy Days and the ITER Business Forum) which, like the previous editions in 2010 and 2013, is held under the High Patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco (pictured).
HSH Prince Albert II meets the Monaco/ITER Fellows
2016-02-08 - On the opening day of the MIIFED 2016 conference, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco meets with the five researchers who were awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the Principality of Monaco in 2014 to work at the ITER Organization in 2015-2016. This is the fourth group of ITER postdoctoral fellows funded by Monaco under a Partnership Arrangement with the ITER Organization. (MIIFED = Monaco ITER International Fusion Energy Days)
Scientist Fellow network launched
2016-01-05 - In January 2016, the ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot launches the ITER Scientist Fellow program in order to create a network of scientists and physicists working on simulation and theory within the research laboratories and institutes of the ITER Members, with strongly reinforced ties to ITER Project and the ITER team. Fellows will be drawn from leading researchers in the Members' fusion communities who have achieved international recognition for their contributions to fusion research. "The 25- to 30-year-old researchers today will be in charge of operating the machine tomorrow," according to the Director-General. "If they don't 'take ownership' of it in a figurative sense before then, they will not be ready to take full advantage of the machine capacities in due time."
First machine components delivered
2015-12-14 - Completed components for the ITER plant have been arriving on site since September 2014. But a major milestone was reached in December 2015 as the first elements of the ITER machine reached Saint-Paul-lez-Durance—460 tonnes of cryostat base segments delivered by India to the on-site Cryostat Workshop. Assembly and welding will being in mid-2016.
Seventeenth ITER Council convenes at ITER
2015-11-18 - The ITER Council convened for its seventeenth meeting (IC-17) on 18-19 November 2015 at ITER Headquarters. The Council acknowledged the much-improved understanding of the scope, sequencing, risks, and costs of the ITER Project that has resulted from a detailed 2015 review of all activities leading to First Plasma. Following an independent audit of the overall schedule and associated resources, the ITER Council plans to reach agreement on the overall schedule through First Plasma by June 2016.
A multinational success
2015-09-16 - Eleven Procurement Arrangements, six Domestic Agencies, twenty suppliers ... the procurement of 2,800 tonnes of cable-in-conduit conductors for ITER's magnet systems has truly been a global enterprise. In September 2015, during the fourteenth and final Conductor Meeting, a commemorative plaque is unveiled at ITER Headquarters in recognition of all actors.
A presidential signature
2015-08-31 - On 20 August 2015, at Air Liquide's factory in Sassenage, France, French President François Hollande signs an industrial component destined for ITER's liquid helium plant.
French President signs ITER component
2015-08-20 - During a visit to Air Liquide's factory in Sassenage, France on 20 August 2015, French President François Hollande (centre) is briefed on the company's involvement in ITER. (Air Liquide is building ITER's liquid helium and liquid nitrogen plants and has also won the contract for the engineering, procurement and testing of the cryoplant and auxiliary systems.) President Hollande signed his name on one of the three "cold boxes" under construction for the liquid helium plant. Also present for the occasion was ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot (second from right) and the French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, Ségolène Royal (in blue).
Member representatives at ITER for the semi-annual ITER Council
2015-06-18 - Gathered for the sixteenth ITER Council on 17-18 June 2015, the representatives of the seven ITER Members are pleased to note the visible progress in construction, the start of component delivery, and progress in manufacturing, as well as the vision and actions to date of the new Director-General Bernard Bigot to achieve a project-oriented organization.
French politicians make a stop at ITER
2015-06-15 - Two former French ministers tour the ITER worksite on 15 June 2015, accompanied by a large delegation. On the right, Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice, was Deputy Minister of Land Management in 2005 when the site decision for ITER was taken; he set up the local steering committee to accompany the project's implementation in the region. Renaud Muselier, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2005 (centre, facing Mr Estrosi), is currently European Deputy. At left, the yachtswoman Maud Fontenoy, ambassador delegate for the environment for The Republican party in France.
Chinese ambassador visits site
2015-05-27 - On 27 May 2015, the Chinese ambassador to France, Mr Zhai Jun (centre left), visits ITER as part of a diplomatic tour of southern France. Centre right: ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot.
Questions for the new Director-General
2015-05-18 - During a two-day media event hosted by the ITER Organization in May 2015, journalists from China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the US have a chance to question Director-General Bernard Bigot on his vision for the project and the changes he has set into motion.
President of the Bouches-du-Rhône department visits ITER
2015-05-06 - On 6 May 2015 Martine Vassal, the newly elected president of the Conseil départemental des Bouches-du-Rhône, tours the ITER site in the company of Director-General Bernard Bigot (far left). Also pictured: Gérard GAZAY, mayor of Aubagne, and Pierre-Marie Delplanque, managing director of the ITER Itinerary coordination cell (far right).
Record attendance at the 5th ITER Business Forum
2015-03-26 - A record 864 people participate in the fifth ITER Business Forum, held from 25 to 27 March in Marseille, France. Organized to inform interested companies about ITER business opportunities—and also to provide the setting for companies to partner together for upcoming tender offers—the participants came from 26 countries and represented 406 companies.
A handshake for posterity
2015-03-05 - On 5 March 2015, during an Extraordinary Meeting in Paris, the ITER Council appoints Bernard Bigot (right) as the third Director-General in the history of the ITER Organization, succeeding Osamu Motojima (left), who has led the project since 2010.
The first Highly Exceptional Load is delivered to ITER
2015-01-14 - On Wednesday 14 January 2015, the first Highly Exceptional Load for ITER arrives as planned on site. A small welcoming committee is present to celebrate the symbolic event. In the years to come, 250 Highly Exceptional Loads will travel along the ITER Itinerary to reach the ITER site.
Fifteenth ITER Council convenes at ITER Headquarters
2014-11-19 - The governing body of the ITER Organization meets for the fifteenth time on 19-20 November 2014. The Council welcomes progress on the construction site as well as actions underway by the ITER Organization and the seven Members to enhance project execution. The Council also nominates Bernard Bigot (currently Chairman of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, CEA) to succeed Osamu Motojima as the Director-General of the ITER Organization.
Head of French Nuclear Safety Authority visits ITER
2014-11-19 - On 19 November 2014, Pierre-Franck Chevet, the president of the French Nuclear Safety Authority ASN (Autorité de sureté nucléaire), visits the ITER worksite.
Four crates with an important symbolic value
2014-09-04 - One truck, just a few crates ... but a milestone nonetheless. The electrical components that arrive on site on 4 September 2014 (shipped from the US Domestic Agency) kickoff the beginning of a new phase for ITER. Over the next years thousands of components will be shipped from around the world for installation into the ITER Tokamak and plant.
ITER celebrates the completion of foundation works
2014-08-27 - With the completion of the B2 slab—the Tokamak Complex "floor"—on 27 August 2014, a new phase of ITER construction is beginning. Twelve metres below the surface of the platform, work is about to begin on the walls of the Diagnostic, Tokamak and Tritium buildings.
President of the European Commission visits ITER
2014-07-11 - As part of a European tour of strategic projects aimed at fighting climate change and facilitating the worldwide energy transition, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso (middle) visits ITER on 11 July 2014, accompanied by French Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research Geneviève Fioraso (right). "Eight years ago, along with President Chirac, I worked hard for ITER to be located here," said President Barroso as he surveyed ITER construction. "The European Commission is proud to have believed in this project." © LESENECHAL/PPV-AIX.COM
Lucio Rossi, in charge of the planned upgrade to CERN's Large Hadron Collider, visits ITER
2014-06-21 - The coordinator for CERN's High Luminosity LHC (HiLumi LHC) Project, Lucio Rossi, stands next to a model of the ITER machine. On site for a meeting of the CERN-ITER Collaboration steering committee, Dr Rossi gives an all-ITER seminar on the building of LHC and its planned upgrade to HiLumi LHC. The physicist, responsible for the construction of the Large Hadron Collider's magnets, has been part of the CERN-ITER Collaboration steering committee since its inception in 2008.
Progress and challenges assessed during the Fourteenth ITER Council
2014-06-19 - On 18 and 19 June 2014, the governing body of the ITER Organization convened in St. Paul-lez-Durance, France under the chairmanship of Robert Iotti (US).¶The Council reviewed the progress of ITER construction and manufacturing. The ITER Organization reported on the arrival of components and the Council agreed on necessary changes to meet the challenges of construction and assembly. The Members discussed the current status of their activities and procurements as well as the need to finalize an updated schedule. The next ITER Council will be held in November 2014.
Academician Evgeny Velikhov, the "godfather" of ITER, describes the potential of hybrids
2014-06-19 - Following the Fourteenth ITER Council in June 2014, Academician Evgeny Velikhov—the president of Russia's Kurchatov Institute, former Chair of the ITER Council and current member of the Russian delegation to the Council—gives an Inside ITER seminar on the concept of fusion-fission hybrid reactors. He describes this promising avenue of research, now part of the scientific program of the Kurchatov, as a "new opportunity for nuclear energy in the 21st century, with the capability to solve the challenges of limited resources of fissile isotopes and radio toxicity generation." (To learn more, see Newsline #248 for an earlier presentation on fusion-fission hybrid reactors.)
ITER welcomes a celebrity
2014-05-13 - Record-holding Jamie Edwards—the youngest student to build and operate a school-lab fusion experiment—visits ITER on 12 May 2014 as part of a two-day program organized for the media. The 14-year-old Lancashire (UK) student, who successfully ran his experiment when only 13, met members of the ITER team, toured the site and spoke of his interest in fusion. He also left with a small piece of the project—a sample of toroidal field coil niobium-tin conductor presented to him by the ITER Director-General. (In the picture, he is speaking with European Domestic Agency Director Henrik Bindslev.)
ITER Itinerary: final test convoy completed successfully
2014-04-08 - Early on 8 April 2014, ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima congratulates the French authorities and the key actors from the Gendarmerie, Agence Iter France, and logistics service provider DAHER for the successful completion of the second ITER Itinerary test. Lessons learned from this second full-scale test will enrich the planning process for the first Highly Exceptional Loads for ITER (late 2014).
ITER Council meets for an extraordinary session in February
2014-02-13 - The ITER Council meets on 13 February 2014 in an extraordinary session to respond to the recommendations of the third biennial management assessment (required by the ITER Agreement). The Council unanimously approved implementation of management reforms in response to all of the recommendations, covering the ITER Organization, the Domestic Agencies and the operation of the ITER Council and its subsidiary bodies.
HSH Prince Albert II receives the Monaco/ITER Fellows
2013-12-02 - On the opening day of the MIIFED 2013 conference, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco meets with the five researchers who were awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the Principality of Monaco in 2012 to work at the ITER Organization in 2013-2014. This is the third group of ITER postdoctoral fellows funded by Monaco under a Partnership Arrangement with the ITER Organization. (MIIFED = Monaco ITER International Fusion Energy Days)
ITER on stage at Monaco
2013-12-02 - The second Monaco-ITER International Fusion Energy Days (MIIFED 2013) are hosted by the Principality of Monaco from 2 to 4 December. Every three years MIIFED takes stock of what is at stake in the energy world and addresses how fusion and ITER can help to meet the challenges of the coming decades. (Pictured alongside ITER representatives are Yukiya Amano, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, second from left, and Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the International Energy.)
ITER Council convenes for the thirteenth time in its history
2013-11-21 - The Thirteenth Meeting of the ITER Council takes place from 20-21 November 2013 in the Council Chamber at ITER Headquarters, concluding seven years to the day after the signature of the ITER Agreement at the Elysée Palace in Paris (21 November 2006).
Fusion and ITER enter the global energy landscape
2013-10-14 - The ITER Organization and the seven Domestic Agencies are present at World Energy Congress (WEC) in Daegu, Korea alongside the world's largest energy stakeholders—policy makers, energy companies, industry experts and researchers—to debate the way to a sustainable energy future.
Itinerary test convoy arrives successfully on site
2013-09-13 - The ITER Itinerary test convoy successfully completes the last leg of its four-night journey, arriving at the ITER site at 4:45 a.m. on Friday 20 September.
ITER Council Ministerial-Level Meeting
2013-09-06 - Convened by Günther H. Oettinger, European Commissioner in charge of Energy, a ministerial-level meeting takes place at the ITER Headquarters on 6 September 2013. Ministerial representatives from the seven ITER Members are present, as well as Geneviève Fioraso, the French Minister of Higher Education and Research.
Umberto Finzi visits site, helped to bring ITER to Europe
2013-07-30 - Physicist Umberto Finzi retired from the European Commission in 2004 but continued to advise the Director General of Research until the conclusion of the ITER negotiations in 2006. Visiting the ITER site in late July, he comments, "During most of my professional life, ITER was a dream. You can imagine my emotion seeing these tons of steel and concrete!"
12th ITER Council held in Tokyo
2013-06-20 - The Twelfth ITER Council takes place in Tokyo, Japan on 19-20 June 2013. The governing board of the project reaffirms the importance of sustained efforts regarding schedule implementation, while recognizing the challenges due to the "first-of-a-kind" nature of ITER.
First commissioning components delivered to ITER
2013-06-03 - Approximately 14 tonnes (737 m) of poloidal field dummy conductor are delivered to the Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility on 3 June after a one-month sea voyage from China. This dummy conductor will help to qualify the tooling and manufacturing processes of ITER's large and powerful poloidal field coils.
First licensing agreement for ITER intellectual property
2013-04-22 - The ITER Organization has concluded its first licensing agreement against royalties with a private company. The licensing agreement pertains to a software application developed to display data on radiation calculations throughout the ITER facilities, and which has potential applications for technological areas outside of ITER.
Instrumental in launching ITER, former EU Commissioner visits site
2013-04-12 - On 12 April 2013, former European Commissioner for Energy Philippe Busquin visits ITER with his family, some 12 years after coming to the site to support Cadarache's bid for the project. As Commissioner for Energy from 1999-2004, he was instrumental in moving ITER from the paper phase to the realization phase.
Industry is interested in ITER
2013-03-21 - The third ITER Business Forum, organized to provide international industry with updated information on the status of ITER, the procurement process, and calls for tender, is held from 21-22 March 2013 in Toulon, France. Over 700 participants from 24 countries attended, representing 386 companies, universities or research institutions.
A visit from neighbours
2013-03-11 - Fifty-three mayors from neighbouring municipalities visit ITER on 11 March 2013. Members of the Association des Maires d'Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, these mayors come from a rural department that pledged EUR 10 million to the ITER project.
Top-level visitor from the International Energy Agency
2013-02-07 - The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Maria van der Hoeven, visits ITER on 7 February 2013.
Convention signed to protect workers
2013-02-01 - On 1 February 2013, the ITER Organization signs a partnership arrangement with the French social security agency URSSAF Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) for the prevention and control of illegal labour practices among contractors on the ITER worksite. The convention stipulates the conditions under which URSSAF PACA will carry out labour controls and inspections and provide contractors and sub-contractors on the ITER site with training and information on French labour regulations.
Headquarters inaugurated
2013-01-17 - The ITER Headquarters building is inaugurated on 17 January 2013. Günther H. Oettinger (2nd from right), EU Commissioner for Energy, and Geneviève Fioraso (2nd from left), French Minister of Higher Education and Research—together with ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima—unveil the plaque that was created for the entrance of the building. (Also pictured, far left, Hugues Parant, Prefet for the PACA Region).
Contrat for Liquid Helium Plant signed
2012-12-11 - On Tuesday, 11 December 2012, ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima and the Managing Director of Air Liquide Advanced Technologies, Xavier Vigor, signed the contract for the design, manufacturing, installation and commissioning of ITER's three identical liquid helium (LHe) plants. The liquid helium plants must be ready for the first assembly phase of ITER, in order to cool down the machine sub-systems for First Plasma.
Eleventh ITER Council
2012-11-29 - The Eleventh ITER Council is held in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France on 28-29 November 2012. One hundred delegates from the ITER Members meet for the first time in the Council Chamber of the newly completed ITER Headquarters building.
A landmark decree authorizes ITER construction
2012-11-10 - The decree authorizing the ITER Organization to create the Installation nucléaire de base (INB) ITER in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France is signed by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and published in the "Journal Officiel" on 10 November 2012. ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima states on the occasion, "We never doubted the validity of our project. ITER safety has now been confirmed by a large body of outside, independent experts. This is indeed a great day for ITER."
The Unique ITER Team
2012-11-07 - During an all-hands meeting in the Headquarters' brand-new amphitheatre on on 7 November 2012, staff is briefed on the outcome of the recent meetings of the project's scientific and managerial advisory committees. The Unique ITER Team—closely collaborating members of the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies—takes to the stage.
ITER is center stage at the 24th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference in San Diego
2012-10-08 - Nearly 1,000 of the world's preeminent fusion researchers from 45 countries gathered in San Diego from 8-13 October 2012 to discuss the latest advances in fusion energy. ITER Director-General Motojima gives a status report on ITER in the first technical session of the meeting. Seventy of 400 papers and posters featured are ITER-related.
Memorandum of Understanding signed with China's MOST for cooperation in fusion research
2012-08-13 - On 13 August 2012, the ITER Organization signs a Memorandum of Understanding with China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to promote scientific and technological cooperation between the world-spanning network of laboratories and institutes engaged in fusion research. The agreement comprises "the exchange of and training of scientists, engineers, specialists, administrators and project managers with regard to mega-science projects for agreed periods of time; the organization of seminars and workshops; and the exchange of information and data on scientific and technical activities taking into account the Intellectual Property rules of the ITER project."
Japanese Minister visits ITER
2012-07-28 - The Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Hirofumi Hirano, visits ITER on 28 July 2012. Welcomed by the ITER Organization Director-General Osamu Motojima and Japanese staff, Minister Hirano highlights the "importance of the ITER project in the context of energy research," stressing that "this concern is shared by all countries in the world, not just by Japanese people."
Local politicians descend by foot into the Tokamak Pit
2012-07-13 - On Friday 13 July 2012, ITER receives the visit of local politician Jean-Noël Guérini, president of the Bouches-du-Rhône Council (Conseil général). Mr. Guérini has long been a vocal supporter of the ITER project; in 2002, the assembly he presided voted an envelope of EUR 152 million for ITER construction. The president of the Bouches-du-Rhône Council was accompanied by a large delegation of Council members and approximately 20 journalists. Pictured (front row): Jérôme Pamela, director of Agence Iter France; Laurent Schmieder, project manager at F4E for the Division for Site, Buildings and Power Supplies; Jean-Noël Guérini; ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima; Michel Claessens, Head of ITER Communication.
Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency visits ITER
2012-07-06 - On 6 July 2012, the ITER Organization welcomes Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "My hope is that ITER will open the door to fusion power and provide the ITER Members with the technology to design and build the first generation of fusion power stations. The challenge is huge, but I have faith in the ingenuity of human beings and the ability of our scientists and engineers to overcome even the most daunting technological hurdles," said the IAEA Director General on the occasion of his visit.
Tenth ITER Council
2012-06-22 - The Tenth ITER Council is held in Washington D.C. on 20-21 June 2012.
ITER licensing milestone
2012-06-20 - An official letter from the French Safety Authority (Agence de sûreté nucléaire - ASN) received on 20 June 2012 confirms that after months of in-depth technical examination, the ASN has judged that the ITER Organization's proposal on the operational conditions and design of the installation fulfils the expected safety requirements. In simpler terms, this long-expected green light means that the French government authorizes the construction of ITER. The final decree should be signed by the French President or his Prime Minister and issued in the last months of 2012.
Filming ITER
2012-06-08 - Senior Engineering Officer Akko Maas holds a picture of the Tokamak Pole, taken in 2007. Five years later, he is standing at the same location, but 17 metres lower ... The sequence was shot by local French TV channel TLP as part of a program on ITER construction—the seventh in the series.
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco meets ITER postdocs
2012-05-14 - On 14 May 2012, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco meets with the five researchers who were awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the Principality of Monaco in 2011 to work at the ITER Organization in 2011-2012. This is the second group of ITER postdoctoral fellows funded by Monaco under a Partnership Arrangement with the ITER Organization.
Long-term contract for ITER conductor testing
2012-04-26 - The ITER Organization and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, sign a three-year service contract that guarantees the availability of the SULTAN facility for the performance testing of ITER conductors. SULTAN is the only facility worldwide capable of testing the niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) and niobiumtitanium (NbTi) conductors that will be used in ITER.
DG Motojima delivers keynote speech in Geneva
2012-04-04 - At the International Congress on Energy Security in Geneva (4-5 April 2012), the Director-General of the ITER Organization delivers the keynote speech. "The era of cheap and abundant energy is soon ending. The advantages of fusion energy, although not easy to achieve, are considerable. The universal availability of the fusion fuels will contribute to easing the international tensions that energy supply and demand currently generate," said Osamu Motojima (pictured).
PRIMA launched in Italy
2012-02-27 - A ceremony is held in Padua, Italy on 27 February 2012 for the launch of the PRIMA Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF), which will house the development and testing of ITER's powerful neutral beams. Construction will begin in April 2012 on two facilities: SPIDER, designed to test the full-size ITER negative ion source (which is twice as large as any existing negative ion source); and MITICA, which is a full-scale test of the heating neutral beam injector. Consorzio RFX (Italy) and its national organization are providing the facility; Europe, Japan and India are contributing the components and the researchers.
Framework contract signed for the transport of ITER components
2012-02-10 - The Logistics Service Provider (LSP) Framework Contract—which provides for global transport, logistic and insurance services—is signed on 10 February 2012 with the European company DAHER by Director-General Osamu Motojima on behalf of the ITER Organization and the seven ITER Members. The contract establishes the conditions for the transport of ITER components from suppliers' factories to the ITER site. Every aspect related to the transport of ITER loads (customs management at departure and arrival, logistics, insurance, intermediate storage before delivery, handling, and final unloading at the ITER site) will be handled under the LSP contract.
ITER and USTC China to train new generation
2011-12-08 - The ITER Organization and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) sign a Memorandum of Understanding "to promote cooperation and exchange in all academic and scientific fields of mutual interest and to advance the training of young fusion researchers."
Ninth ITER Council
2011-11-18 - The ninth edition of the ITER Council takes place in Cadarache on 17-18 November 2011.
End of term for Council Chair Academician Evgeny Velikhov
2011-11-17 - During the ninth ITER Council (17-18 November 2011) appreciation is shown to Academician Evgeny Velikhov from Russia for his two-year term as ITER Council Chair, which ends 31 December 2011.
ITER and CEA host 22nd Magnet Technology conference
2011-09-12 - The ITER Organization, together with the French Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), hosts the 22nd International Conference on Magnet Technology in Marseille, France.
ITER Public Enquiry concludes
2011-08-04 - The ITER Public Enquiry is held from 15 June-4 August 2011 in the surrounding communities, allowing the public to ask questions about the ITER project, in particular its environmental impact and safety aspects. The Public Enquiry concludes with the issuance of a Favourable Opinion by the Public Enquiry Commissioner in September.
VIP visit
2011-07-08 - French physicist Robert Aymar visits the ITER site in July 2011. Considered the "godfather" of ITER, Robert Aymar steered the ITER teams in Garching and Naka between 1998 and 2001, just at the time the design for ITER was approved after six years of collaborative design activities by the Members.
ITER Council #8
2011-06-18 - The eighth ITER Council convenes in Aomori, Japan on 14-15 June 2011.
CEA and ITER to collaborate on research
2011-05-20 - The ITER Organization and the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) sign a Memorandum of Understanding that will enable collaborative research actions to prepare for ITER, including the use of CEA's fusion facility Tore Supra.
ITER is at home now
2011-02-21 - The ITER Organization is granted "full rights" to the land and buildings of the ITER site and will retain them for the duration of the ITER Agreement (24 October 2042). The delegation of responsibility is formalized on 21 February 2011 with the signature of a convention by Agence Iter France Director Jérôme Pamela and ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima.
ITER and NIFS sign Memorandum of Understanding
2011-02-02 - The ITER Organization and the National Institute for Fusion Research (NIFS) in Japan sign a Memorandum of Understanding that builds the framework for the technical cooperation between the two institutions. The Memorandum of Understanding provides for the exchange of expertise relating to R&D for ITER (cryoplant and cryo-distribution, superconducting magnet quality control, heat treatment, winding, CODAC, vacuum leak localization, power supply commissioning, integrated tests with superconducting coils, heating and current drive, and neutral beam injection).
ITER safety files "receivable"
2010-12-14 - The ITER licensing process moves forward significantly on 14 December 2010 when the ITER Organization receives a letter from the French Authority (Mission Sureté Nucleaire et Radioprotection) stating that the submitted safety files are "receivable." The safety files, called the DAC files (Demande d'Authorisation de Création), contain 14 separate documents. The technical examination of the files by various technical bodies can now begin.
ITER Itinerary completed
2010-12-03 - Work on the ITER Itinerary comes to an end in December 2010. Large-scale public works were carried out along the 104-kilometre Itinerary by France as Host state between 2008 and 2010 to widen roads, reinforce bridges and modify intersections in preparation for the exceptional size and weight of some of the Tokamak components. The cost for these road works (EUR 110 million) was shared by the Bouches-du-Rhône department Council (66 percent) and the French State (34 percent).
Insurance contract for ITER construction
2010-11-30 - On Tuesday, 30 November 2010, the Director-General of the ITER Organization, Osamu Motojima, and the CEO of ZURICH France, Paolo Ribotta, finalize the signature process of the Global Insurance Contract that covers the construction and assembly of the ITER plant. The contract is worth EUR 43 million and involves many insurance companies from Switzerland, France, UK, USA, Germany, Ireland, China, Korea and Japan.
ITER Council #7
2010-11-24 - On 17-18 November, the ITER Council convenes for its seventh meeting in Cadarache, France.
Monaco-ITER Fusion Days
2010-11-23 - The first Monaco ITER International Fusion Energy Days (MIIFED) are held on 23-25 November 2010. Hosted by the Principality of Monaco, and jointly organized by the ITER Organization, the Principality and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), this three-day conference offers scientists, industrialists, politicians and the press an opportunity to explore and discuss what is at stake in the energy world, and how fusion and ITER can help to meet the challenges of the coming decades.
Signatures for posterity
2010-11-17 - Director-General Motojima holds up a parchment signed by the Chair of the ITER Council, by the heads of the seven ITER Domestic Agencies, and by his hand before he places it inside the Foundation Stone for posterity. © LESENECHAL/PPV-AIX.COM
Foundation Stone ceremony for ITER Headquarters
2010-11-17 - On 17 November 2010, the ITER Organization celebrates the unveiling of the foundation stone for the Headquarters office building. "Our long dream has now become a tangible reality," said Director-General Motojima in his address. "In a little more than 18 months, we will move into this beautifully-designed and functional building [...] where we will work as hard as we can to meet our deadlines and make ITER happen."
International school completed for ITER
2010-08-15 - The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur International School situated in Manosque, which began operating out of temporary housing in 2007 for 130 students aged 3 to 18, moved into its new facilities in August, 2010. Designed by architects Ricciotti and Bonhomme (the same team that designed the ITER Headquarters), the PACA International school was financed by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Council. The program is open to ITER families as well as to local children interested in an international curriculum.
ITER platform made available to F4E
2010-07-29 - On 29 July 2010, Director-General Motojima and Director of the European Domestic Agency (F4E) Frank Briscoe sign an agreement that makes the ITER platform available to F4E in order to "undertake the construction of the ITER buildings and site infrastructure."
Passing the ITER torch
2010-07-29 - Director-General Osamu Motojima (left) addresses ITER staff on the day following his appointment, and takes the opportunity to thank his predecessor Kaname Ikeda (right) for the completion of the ITER Baseline.
Baseline approved
2010-07-28 - The ITER Council convenes for an extraordinary meeting on 28 July 2010 and unanimously approves the ITER Baseline, which details the technical scope, schedule and cost of the ITER project through 2027 and start of deuterium-tritium operation. The ITER Council also appoints Professor Osamu Motojima (pictured, centre) as the second Director-General of the ITER Organization, replacing Kaname Ikeda (left) who had led the project since 2005.
Full rights to the ITER site
2010-07-06 - On 6 July 2010 the ITER site, property of the CEA, is made available by notary deed to the ITER Organization. Less than three weeks later, ITER and CEA legal representatives meet again in Paris to sign a sale deed for the existing site installations (Visitor Centre, technical buildings, storm basins ...) By way of these two deeds, ITER now holds "full rights" to the land and buildings and will retain them for the duration of the ITER Agreement (24 October 2042).
Sixth ITER Council
2010-06-18 - The ITER Council meets for its sixth meeting in Suzhou, China on 16-17 June 2010.
Architect Engineer for ITER construction
2010-05-26 - The European Consortium ENGAGE (Assystem, France; Atkins, UK; Empresados Agrupados, Spain; and Iosis, France) is chosen by the European Domestic Agency F4E as Architect/Engineer of ITER construction, with responsibility for the completion of the construction design for all buildings, site infrastructure and power supplies, and the monitoring of construction activity. The Architect Engineering contract (EUR 150 million) not only represents the biggest contract awarded in the scope of the ITER project, but also one of the biggest engineering contracts ever signed in Europe.
Catching up with the Monaco Fellows
2010-01-12 - On 12 January 2010, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco is photographed with four of the five Monaco Fellows working at ITER during his visit to the site. Five Monaco Fellows are named every two years under the terms of the Monaco-ITER Partnership Arrangement signed in 2008.
Prince Albert II of Monaco visits ÍTER
2010-01-12 - On 12 January 2010—two years after the ITER Organization and the Principality of Monaco sign a Partnership Arrangement—His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco visits ITER. Over a ten-year period, the contribution from the Principality of Monaco will fund five Postdoctoral Fellowships and a biennial international conference on ITER-related research.
End of term for Council Chair Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith
2009-11-19 - The fifth edition of the ITER Council on 18-19 November 2009 was the last meeting for Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, after two years as Chair of the ITER Council. It was also his birthday, an occasion marked by a cake in the shape of the ITER platform complete with diggers and bulldozers.
Fifth ITER Council
2009-11-18 - The ITER Council meets for the fifth time on 18-19 November 2009 in Cadarache, France.
ITER is at the Falling Walls conference in Berlin
2009-11-09 - The 20-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is commemorated at an event that asks the world's scientific community: "What are the next walls to fall?" ITER Principal Deputy Director-General Norbert Holtkamp is invited to present fusion energy and the ITER project.
Reagan-Gorbatchev in 1985: he was a part of it all
2009-10-30 - An adviser to the Assistant Secretary of State for Scientific Affairs in 1985, Dr. Charles Newstead played a key role in the genesis of ITER. As a physicist, he was able to convince the most reluctant members in the Reagan administration that accepting Gorbatchev's proposal of an international collaboration in fusion was not, as they feared, "giving the Russians the secret of Star Wars." Dr Newstead, who also served as Senior Scientific Adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, visits ITER in October 2009, declaring that seeing the progress of the project made him "feel marvellous."
Celebrating the end of site preparation
2009-06-26 - A ceremony is held on 26 June 2009 to celebrate the end of two years of site preparatory works. The 42-hectare ITER platform is now ready to receive the project infrastructure and facilities. Pictured: Francois Gauché, director Agence Iter France; Neil Calder, head of ITER Communication; Kaname Ikeda, Director-General of the ITER Organization; and Didier Gambier, director of the European Domestic Agency.
Council Chair speaks to all staff
2009-06-26 - ITER Council Chairman Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith addresses assembled ITER staff on the question of energy following the Fourth ITER Council meeting held in Mito, Japan. "If we can produce fusion power in a reliable and competitive way, it will be one very important part of the portfolio of measures that must be taken to meet the energy challenge."
Fourth ITER Council
2009-06-18 - On 17-18 June 2009, the ITER Council, the Governing Body of the ITER Organization, convenes for its fourth meeting in Mito, Japan.
French Secretary of State visits ITER
2009-04-16 - On 16 April 2009, Luc Chatel (far left)—French Secretary of State in charge of Industry and Consumption (Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment) as well as French government spokesperson—visits ITER.
Switzerland officializes participation in ITER
2009-03-15 - As a member of Euratom, Switzerland has been involved in the European fusion program and ITER from the start. In a formal process initiated by the government in late 2008 and concluded in March 2009, the Swiss government ratifies the accession of Switzerland to the European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy as a third country member. Thirty-four distinct nations participate in the ITER project.
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco meets ITER postdocs
2009-02-11 - On 11 February 2009, HSH Prince Albert II personally congratulates the first ITER Monaco Postdoctoral Fellows funded by the Principality of Monaco at a lunch hosted by the Prince in the Palais Princier. Five researchers have been awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the Principality of Monaco in 2008 to work at the ITER Organization in 2009-2011.
Third ITER Council
2008-11-19 - The ITER Council convenes for its third meeting on 19-20 November 2008 in Cadarache, France.
ITER and IAEA sign Cooperation Agreement
2008-10-13 - On 13 October 2008 the ITER Organization signs a Cooperation Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "... with a view to facilitating the effective attainment of the objectives set forth in the Agency's Statute and the ITER Agreement." The IAEA has been closely involved with ITER since its very beginning. The early negotiation and cooperation phases of ITER were held under the auspices of the IAEA. The Director-General of the IAEA is the Depositary of the ITER Agreement. The IAEA and the ITER Organization now cooperate on training, joint publications and organization of scientific conferences, plasma physics and modelling, materials development and fusion safety and security.
Briscoe Review gets underway
2008-07-20 - The Management Advisory Committee (MAC) commissions an independent assessment of the resource estimates for ITER construction. The Review committee, led by Dr. Frank Briscoe, comprises two representatives from each ITER Member. The Briscoe Review results in recommendations for potential savings and a major restructuration of project management systems.
Second ITER Council
2008-05-18 - On 17-18 June 2008, the ITER Council convenes for the second time in its history. The two-day meeting in Aomori, Japan brings together senior representatives from the seven ITER Members.
French Prime Minister visits the Broader Approach
2008-04-11 - French Prime Minister François Fillon (centre) visits the site of the Broader Approach activities in Rokkasho, Japan on 11 April 2008. To his left is Valérie Pécresse, Minister for Higher Education and Research.
ITER Deputy Director-General before the UN International School Student Conference
2008-03-06 - On 6 March 2008, ITER Deputy Director-General Carlos Alejaldre steps onto the podium at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to present the ITER project to the United Nations International School (UNIS)/United Nations (UNIS/UN) Student Conference. The theme of the 2008 UNIS/UN conference is "The Pursuit of Energy: A Catalyst for Conflict."
CERN-ITER Agreement
2008-03-06 - On 6 March 2008 a five-year Cooperation Agreement is signed between the ITER Organization and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The Agreement makes the long experience of CERN available to ITER in areas of technology and administration. Robert Aymar, Director-General of CERN, and Kaname Ikeda, Director-General of the ITER Organization, sign the agreement.
ITER Safety Files submitted to French authorities
2008-01-30 - In January 2008, following a one-and-a-half-year effort, the ITER DAC safety files (Demande d'Autorisation de Création), which include the Preliminary Safety Report, are sent off to the French Nuclear Authorities. This is the major first step in the multi-year process of achieving the licensing of the ITER facility as a Basic Nuclear Installation in France.
Monaco-ITER Partnership Arrangement
2008-01-15 - ITER Organization and the Principality of Monaco sign the ITER-Monaco Partnership Arrangement that establishes two-year postdoctoral research fellowships at ITER and a regular international conference on ITER-related research. The Agreement is signed by his Excellency, the Minister of the Principality of Monaco, Monsieur Jean Paul Proust, and the Director-General of the ITER Organization, Kaname Ikeda, in the presence of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II.
First ITER Council
2007-11-26 - On 27 November 2007, the ITER Council convenes for the first time in the history of the new international organization. Establishing a new paradigm in international scientific collaboration, the two-day meeting in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France brings together top scientific statesmen and stateswomen from China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. This first Council meeting, convened by the IAEA, comes only one month after the entry into force of the ITER Agreement on 24 October 2007.
France and the ITER Organization sign Headquarters Agreement
2007-11-07 - The Headquarters Agreement establishing the legal status of the ITER Organization in France is signed on 7 November 2007 by Valérie Pécresse, Minister for Higher Education and Research on behalf of the French government, and Kaname Ikeda, Director General Nominee of the ITER Organization. This Agreement sets out the terms of cooperation between the new International Organization and the French authorities, in particular compliance with French regulations related to public safety and security, environmental protection, nuclear safety and radiological protection.
ITER Organization established
2007-10-24 - On 24 October 2007, following ratification by all Parties, the ITER Agreement enters into force and ITER Organization is formally established. Pictured, Director-General Kaname Ikeda (left) and Principal Deputy Director-General Norbert Holtkamp (right).
Japanese astronaut visits ITER
2007-09-04 - Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri, who has logged more than 459 hours in space on board of the International Space Station (ISS), visits the ITER site on 5 September 2007. "It is astounding what humans can do when they work together," Mohri said. "I know that you will astound the world."
Interim ITER Council meets for the second time
2007-07-11 - The second meeting of the Interim ITER Council (IIC) takes place in Tokyo from 11-12 July 2007 under the chairmanship of Sir Christopher Llewellyn-Smith, six months after the signature of the ITER Agreement in Paris on 21 November 2006.
First MAC meeting
2007-05-30 - On 30-31 May, the Management Advisory Committee (MAC) to the Interim ITER Council was convened for the first time, in Gréoux-les-Bains, France. Government-level representatives of the ITER Members, MAC members advise the ITER Council on matters such as ITER project management and budget allocations.
Broader Approach agreement signed
2007-02-05 - On 5 February 2007, EURATOM and the Japanese government sign the Broader Approach Agreement. The Broader Approach establishes a "privileged" cooperation between Europe and Japan, complementing the ITER project and accelerating the development of fusion energy through R&D and the development of advanced technologies for a demonstration fusion power reactor (DEMO).
ITER Agreement signed in Paris
2006-11-21 - The signing of the ITER Agreement takes place on 21 November 2006 at the Élysée Palace, in Paris. Present are French President Jacques Chirac, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and some 400 invited guests including high-level representatives from the ITER Parties and European Member States.
First ITER team in Cadarache
2006-02-01 - The original on-site team, temporarily housed at CEA Cadarache, is composed of seven people: J-P. Girard, E. Tada, A. Maas, J. How, A. Annicchiarico, J. Sovka and T. Nagahama.
President Chirac comes to Cadarache
2005-06-30 - The decision to build ITER in Cadarache, France is made by the seven Members at a ministerial-level meeting in Moscow on 28 June 2005. President Jacques Chirac lands by helicopter behind the Château de Cadarache two days later, on 30 June 2005. A reception for 3,000 people is organized to greet the President and celebrate the ITER site decision.
ITER is coming to Cadarache!
2005-06-30 - French President Jacques Chirac speaks to the crowd at the Château de Cadarache: ITER is coming to Cadarache!
Jacques Chirac's message to ITER
2005-06-30 - On the occasion of his visit to Cadarache on 30 June 2005, French President Jacques Chriac leaves the following message: Bravo! et Merci! A toute l'extraordinaire équipe du CEA de Cadarache, pour ces superbes et extraordinaires réalisations! Et tous mes voeux et ma confiance pour ITER. J.Chirac (Congratulations! And Many Thanks! To the extraordinary CEA Cadarache team for these spectacular and extraordinary accomplishments! And all of my best wishes and my confidence for ITER. J. Chirac)
Site decision made in Moscow
2005-06-28 - On 28 June 2005 in Moscow, where ministerial-level representatives of the ITER Members had convened, a consensus had at last been reached: ITER would be built in southern France, some 75 kilometres north of Marseille. Pictured: Janez Potočnik, the European Commissioner for Science, and Noriaki Nakayama, the Japanese Minister of Science and Technology.
The Geneva Summit, November 1985
1985-11-15 - During the 1985 Geneva Summit, US President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev of the Soviet Union agree to pursue an international effort to develop fusion energy for the benefit of all mankind.