20th ITER Council meeting recognizes strong project progress in line with the 2016 baseline

At its Twentieth Meeting on 21 and 22 June 2017, the ITER Council reviewed a detailed set of reports and indicators demonstrating that, while working to an extremely demanding schedule and challenging technical requirements, the ITER Project continues its strong performance, and remains on schedule for First Plasma 2025. 

— Project milestones: Since 1 January 2016, 22 project Council-approved milestones have been achieved, maintaining strict adherence to the overall project schedule and critical path. For two milestones that have shown a small amount of slippage, mitigation measures have been put in place to recover and maintain the First Plasma schedule. 

— Risk management: The ITER Council endorsed the recently received report of the In-depth Independent Review Panel on Risk Management. The Council underscored the significant progress made in this area by the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies over the past year and requested the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies to follow the report recommendations for further improvement. Project-wide improvements to risk management practices are being employed to collectively address anticipated challenges in critical path areas such as Tokamak Building construction, vacuum vessel sector manufacturing, and fabrication of in-wall shielding. 

— Organizational reform: The reforms proposed in the Director General’s Action Plan of March 2015 are essentially complete. Substantial gains have been made in effective, efficient decision making, cost-containment, systems engineering, adherence to project commitments, and other aspects critical to success. The promotion of a nuclear project culture requires commitment to continuous learning and improvement; therefore rigorous assessments are an ongoing feature of the project. 

— ITER Member joint commitment: The Council held candid discussions acknowledging the challenges—whether technological, political, or financial—that some Member countries are facing. Council Members reaffirmed their strong belief in the near-term and long-term value of the project, and their joint commitment to the ITER mission and vision. The Council resolved to work together to find solutions that honour this commitment and that will continue to support ITER’s success. The Council welcomed the European Commission’s recent Communication regarding Euratom’s participation in ITER. 

Reflecting on the recent strong project performance, ITER Council Chair Professor Won Namkung acknowledged the challenges inherent in ITER’s success. “The construction of a full-scale tokamak capable of demonstrating a burning plasma requires overcoming monumental complexities.

Multinational collaboration is essential for success, but naturally introduces further complexities, requiring exceptional management and teamwork. The Council congratulates the entire ITER team— from the Director-General to every staff member, contractor, and supplier, globally—on the commitment to effective collaboration that has put the project on the path to success. The Council will continue to closely monitor project performance, and to provide the support needed to maintain this pace of achievement.” 

BACKGROUND TO THE PRESS RELEASE 

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

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

To see a gallery of pictures from the ITER Council meeting, follow this link. 

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

CONTACT

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