Of Interest archive

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Japan's National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) have completed the manufacturing of the first outer vertical target of the ITER divertor. Three types of plasma-facing targets (outer vertical target, inner vertical target and dome) mounted on divertor cassette bodies form the "cassette assemblies" that will be installed in a ring at the bottom of the ITER plasma chamber. In a tokamak, the divertor plays an important role in the removal and expelling of unburned fuel and impurities in the core plasma to sustain the fusion reaction in a stable manner.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is responsible for the manufacturing of 38 outer vertical target units. Series production is now underway.

Read the full press release in English or Japanese.

From 4 to 6 November, Paris will host the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE)—the world's largest civil nuclear exhibition, expected to welcome more than 25,000 participants.

The ITER Organization will be present at WNE 2025. Here’s how you can meet and engage with us during the event:

• Stand L123: for the duration of the conference
• Tuesday 4 November, 17:00-17:50, Workshop Room 3: "ITER procurement procedures and opportunities" with ITER Procurement Section Leader Takakazu Kimura and Fusion for Energy Market Analyst Benjamin Perier.
• Wednesday 5 November, 11:15-12:30, Main Stage: "From Breakthroughs to Industry: Delivering Fusion Energy at Global Scale," a panel discussion with ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi and representatives from RWE Nuclear GmbH, Ansaldo Nucleare, Westinghouse Electric Company, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy.

See you there!

If you are a European company or organization with fusion technology or fusion know-how that is used or planned for use in a non-fusion application, you can apply by 5 December 2025 for Fusion for Energy's 2025 Fusion Technology Transfer Award.

Europe’s contribution to ITER and other fusion projects such as JT-60SA, IFMIF/EVEDA, IFERC, IFMIF-DONES, and DEMO is pushing suppliers to develop cutting-edge technologies. These range from robotic tools to engineering software, superconductors or novel metal joining techniques. Besides their value in a fusion environment, these solutions can find their place in other high-tech sectors. Fusion for Energy’s Technology Transfer Programme helps companies and researchers think broader and tap into the commercial potential of fusion breakthroughs; discover some of the success stories here.

The prize (EUR 10,000) will be awarded during the first quarter of 2026. 

See all information on the 2025 Fusion Technology Transfer Award website.

The journal Nuclear Fusion has published a collection of papers prepared by the Topical Physics Groups of the International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) reviewing progress in the development of the physics basis for burning plasma operation.

The special issue describes the extensive physics R&D activities for ITER and fusion energy development carried out under the ITPA between 2007 and 2025. It covers a wide range of physics issues—from plasma confinement and fast particles, to plasma control (including power fluxes on plasma-facing components and the mitigation of power transients) and diagnostics.

The 2025 special issue includes topics of relevance to ITER, as well as to tokamak burning plasmas more generally.

Click to access “On the Path to Tokamak Burning Plasma Operation.”

A picture of the ITER tokamak pit has made the cover of the November issue of National Geographic. Inside the 30-page feature story titled "Inside the long-shot megaproject that aims to solve our energy worries forever," author Michael Finkel explains how ITER will attempt to tame "a soupy jumble of atomic parts known as plasma" and create a "mechanical star" on Earth.

He vividly describes the challenges of mastering fusion energy, relates something of ITER's bumpy road to existence, and—dressed in a white lab coat, a hairnet, a hard hat, protective eyewear, and white gloves—marvels at the attempt to build a machine that he describes as almost absurdly difficult. He also lifts the veil on what it's like to be at the head of such a complex endeavour by trailing ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi, including during a 6:00 a.m. meeting that is at the start of every workday.

You can access an online version of the article on the National Geographic website. (Photography by Paolo Verzone.) A German version is available here.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) publishes the annual World Fusion Outlook as a reference for authoritative information and updates on fusion energy research. The 2025 edition presents a selection of recent achievements in fusion energy, outlines some of the dozens of fusion plant concepts currently at various stages of development worldwide, highlights global efforts in fusion energy development and discusses for the first time the global outlook for fusion energy deployment. As a special focus topic, this edition of the publication explores high-temperature superconductors and their potential role in the commercialization of fusion energy.

Read or download the full report at this address.

The publication is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.

According to the IAEA’s Fusion Device Information System (FusDIS), there are almost 150 experimental fusion devices and testing facilities either operating, under construction or in the planned stages, and more than 20 fusion plant designs under development. Recent scientific and technical advances, coupled with a dynamic private sector, and the pressing concerns of climate change and energy security, have shifted the focus toward addressing the remaining challenges. These include demonstrating the technological feasibility of fusion power and ensuring its safety and economic viability as a sustainable energy source.

Through its series of Fusion Energy Conferences (FECs), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has long fostered the exchange of scientific and technical results in fusion R&D. The 30th edition of the FEC—which formally opens tomorrow in Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan province—is intended to reflect the priorities of this new era in fusion energy research, development, demonstration, and preparation to deployment.

ITER staff members will be participating in the technical program, leading sessions on ITER technology, science and construction. ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi will present the progress of the ITER project and its value for fusion. And, parallel to the conference, the Second Ministerial Meeting of the IAEA World Fusion Energy Group will take place on Tuesday 14 October, one year after its inaugural meeting. 

Newsline will have a full report next week.

Click to see the IAEA FEC 2025 general conference website and the conference program.

The fusion neutron source IFMIF-DONES, under construction in Granada, Spain, is the subject of a special issue of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) journal Nuclear Fusion (Issue 12, Volume 65, December 2025). Through a preface and 15 focus articles, it presents an overview of the engineering basis underpinning the facility, including key decisions taken, and previews its experimental capabilities.

Access the special issue at this link.

The next generation of fusion experts is coming to ITER in November. About 150 PhD students from European universities, laboratories and institutes will gather at ITER from 4-6 November 2025 under the umbrella of FuseNet, the European fusion education network, for its annual PhD Event—an event that coincides this year with FuseNet’s fifteenth anniversary. 

During their three-day stay at ITER, the students will hear keynote talks about recent developments in the field of fusion energy and at ITER, join a round-table discussion about public-private partnerships in the field, and have a peek at the ITER tokamak in the making. 

The students will also share their own research—either as a poster presentation or in an oral presentation Pecha Kucha style. As is customary with these meet-and-greet events, students will also have many opportunities to network with fellow researchers. 

Click to read more about the event or to download the program. (The event is fully booked; no registration is possible.)

In September 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held its annual General Conference in Vienna, with representatives from most of the IAEA Member States plus participants from international organizations and non-governmental organizations. The ITER Organization, which has a long history of close collaboration with the IAEA, was present. ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi addressed the plenary session with a recorded video statement; he was also one of the panelists at a special side session dedicated to fusion regulation. The ITER Organization also had a stand in the General Conference Exhibition organized around the theme "Fusion Energy is our Future."

Follow these links to watch the video address of the ITER Director-General or download the transcript.

How can Europe lead the way towards commercial fusion energy? More than 200 representatives from European policy institutes, industry, SMEs, startups, research and Big Science came together at the F4E Roundtable in June 2025 in Barcelona to discuss this question.

Fusion for Energy (F4E) has now published a Key Takeaways Report, summarizing the main proposals from the event. In different panels, experts addressed some of the most pressing challenges, like the competitiveness of the fusion industry, the development of a skilled workforce and the mobilization of investment.

The report will feed into the ongoing policy discussions led by the European Commission and is now publicly available for stakeholders to consult.

Download ROUNDTABLE 2025 Key Takeaways here.

This summer, the test blanket module teams from ITER Organization, Fusion for Energy (the European Domestic Agency), and ITER Korea met at ITER to advance plans for two tritium breeding concepts: a water-cooled lead lithium concept (developed by Europe) and a helium-cooled ceramic pebble bed concept (co-developed by Europe and Korea).

With this first-of-a-kind equipment heading for preliminary design reviews in 2026, the teams took four days to assess the readiness of the designs and to identify the tasks that remain.

“The productive discussions [were] a unique opportunity to consolidate a joint plan to tackle key challenges for the TBM technologies and their integration in ITER," said Rossella Rotella, ITER Tritium Breeding Blankets Project Leader, whose team is developing the infrastructure to host the test blanket modules on ITER. “We are working intensively to develop solutions compliant with the stringent safety requirements and operational performances. In this challenging context, close cooperation and technical expertise are our best assets to succeed."

See a full report on the Fusion for Energy website.

The European Fusion Education Network, FuseNet, has developed five educational modules on the basics of fusion energy for use in secondary schools:

• Fusion Basics
• Road to Fusion
• Plasma Control
• Fusion Materials
• (Fusion) Deployment

The five modules can be downloaded in English for free from the FuseNet website here.

To ensure the widest possible diffusion of these educational materials, the team at FuseNet is working on translations to 19 other languages with the assistance of volunteers. Module 1, " Fusion Basics," has already been translated into Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Slovak, Spanish and Ukrainian, and other language versions are in progress (Arabic, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Macedonian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Romanian, and Slovenian). Translations of Modules 2-5 are either available or planned (see the progress chart on the FuseNet website).

To download all available versions, open the individual modules on this page and click in the right margin.

If you would like to contribute to translating the modules, contact FuseNet at: feo@fusenet.eu.

Attention to companies of all sizes interested in fusion business opportunities! The European Domestic Agency for ITER Fusion for Energy (F4E) will be hosting Supply Chain Days in Barcelona, Spain, from 30 September to 2 October 2025. Participation is possible in person or online.

Day 1 (30 September) – Contracts Day

Day 2 (1 October) – Sustainability Day

Day 3 (2 October) – SME Day

See all information on the Fusion for Energy website.

The European Fusion Education Network, FuseNet, is organizing the 6th annual European Fusion Teacher Day on 10 October 2025. The goal is to introduce nuclear fusion to secondary school teachers throughout Europe, to discuss teaching nuclear fusion to secondary school students and to create enthusiasm for the field of fusion at the secondary education level.

The event features a domestic session with lectures by local fusion experts on current fusion research in your area, followed by a global livestream during which new (free) educational materials will be presented and keynote speakers from the international fusion community give an inside look into the largest scientific collaboration in the world. Both the domestic and global parts of the event are fully remote.

Participation is open to every science and physics teacher in Europe. Participation is free of charge. All participants will receive a certificate of attendance after the event.

Find the agenda and more information about registration page on the event webpage. 

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) has released an updated version of its Global Fusion Map, a public resource that tracks the rapidly expanding international fusion energy landscape.

The new edition highlights major additions across private-sector projects, government initiatives, research collaborations, and commercial milestones. Designed for policymakers, industry leaders, journalists, and the public, the tool provides a clear picture of how the field is evolving and where activity is concentrated. The map also illustrates the range of fusion approaches under development worldwide—including magnetic confinement, magnetized target fusion, inertial confinement, and field-reversed configuration—while providing insight into project scale by reported investment. 

CATF adds a disclaimer stating that " the map has been compiled from publicly available sources and is not exhaustive."  Access the updated CATF Global Fusion Map here: https://www.catf.us/global-fusion-map/.  

See the announcement on the CATF website.

Fusion Power Associates (FPA), the US-based non-profit that has been advocating for the development of fusion energy since its founding in 1979, is making a few changes. 

In a letter to FPA members and the broader fusion community, the organization announced that its longtime president and co-founder Stephen O. Dean would be transitioning to the role of President Emeritus and that the organization would be moving from the Washington DC area to be hosted by the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego). Michael Campbell and Farhat Beg, respectively Professor of Practice and Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the university, will be taking over as Fusion Power Associates President and Senior Vice President.

Recent developments are contributing to a growing fusion ecosystem in the San Diego area. General Atomics, which operates the DIII-D tokamak for the US Department of Energy and also fabricates target assemblies for inertial fusion, is located just north of the city. (See the story on the completion at General Atomics of the ITER central solenoid is this issue of the ITER Newsline.) The company announced in March that it was collaborating with UCSD on a Fusion Data Science and Digital Engineering Center as part of efforts to fast-track fusion energy development; it is also part of a new research collaborative focused on developing and scaling up inertial fusion power facilities. And at UCSD, a Fusion Engineering Institute was launched last year to focus on some of the engineering challenges that must be addressed for commercially attractive fusion. With a large San Diego delegation planning to visit ITER later this month, we expect to hear more about emerging plans to position San Diego as a fusion R&D hub.

The 2024 ITER Organization Report on Human Resources has just been published.

Follow this link to browse through the report, which offers insight into the human dimension of the ITER Organization through statistics on staffing trends, recruitment, mobility, development, performance, remuneration, and more. It also highlights the growing diversity of the organization—both in terms of professional roles and also in terms of the backgrounds and profiles of ITER staff and their families, who come from more than 30 countries.

To learn even more about what it is like to work at the ITER Organization, see this selection of staff stories. 

See all ITER Organization reports on the Publications page of the website.

Change the look of your mobile phone with one of four ITER wallpaper options! Download the selection at this ITER web address: https://www.iter.org/node/20687/iter-wallpaper-mobile-phones

The Fusion Industry Association has released its 2025 Global Fusion Industry Report. The report, which surveyed 53 private sector fusion companies (up from 45 last year), found that there has been a total of USD 9.766 billion in private and public funding of fusion companies—a sum that has increased five-fold since 2021. In the past 12 months, investment totalled USD 2.64 billion, a 178% rise from the previous year’s growth. The figure marks a significant increase from 2024 and is the second-highest yearly fusion funding figure since the report began, after the 2022 record year.

Public investment in the private fusion sector is growing, increasing 84% last year and now totalling nearly USD 800 million across the globe.

More than half of the fusion energy startups in the report are based in the United States (29), while a further 13 are in Europe. The remainder are operating in countries across Asia and Oceania. The survey shows that private-sector fusion companies directly employ 4,607 people and support at least 9,300 supply chain jobs, although the Association believes this to likely be underestimated, as not all companies provided employee data. Since 2021, the number of people employed directly by private-sector fusion companies has at least quadrupled.

The report goes on to describe reported commercial timelines, company profiles, company milestones, and jobs growth.

Consult or download the Fusion Industry Association's 2025 Global Fusion Industry Report from this page.