Open R&D issues related to the new ITER Baseline 2024 are described together with experimental, modelling and validation activities required to address them. In describing the R&D program of the ITER device, the new baseline ITER Research Plan also identifies the top issues requiring consolidation or refinement. The R&D required to address these issues have been examined in collaboration with the groups of experts from International Tokamak Physics Activity and the ITER Research Plan development team. In the interest of making these R&D support needs more widely accessible to the fusion research community, scientists at the ITER Organization have just released a consolidated updated list as an ITER Technical Report.The report, published on 30 May 2025, provides the description of a selected set of issues related to completion of systems' designs, specific choices and options to be explored in the ITER Research Plan, and strategic assumptions on the development of the Plan's experimental program towards high-Q operation.The support from ITER Member fusion research institutes provides an essential contribution to the further refinement of the ITER Research Plan. Making these R&D needs publicly available is intended to strengthen this support. Visit the ITER Technical Reports page of the ITER website or download the 32-page document directly here. 

The International Tokamak Physics Activity provides a framework for internationally coordinated fusion research activities among the ITER Members. Replying to the ITER Council’s request in late 2023 to engage with private sector fusion initiatives, and as reported in a recent Newsline article, the ITER Organization and Members have carried out the behind-the-scenes work to make it possible for private sector initiatives to access ITPA. Under this new framework, staff from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the world’s largest private fusion company, have joined ITPA activities for the first time on the same basis as staff from publicly funded research institutes that are located in the ITER Members. The International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) has provided a framework for internationally coordinated fusion research activities for ITER Members since 2001. Since 2008, it has operated under the auspices of the ITER Organization. Its participants are the ITER Members, who provide experts from their national fusion research institutions to carry out research in a wide range of physics areas. This research is implemented by seven topical groups under the chairmanship of an ITER Member expert and the co-chairmanship of two experts, one coming from the ITER Organization.Until early this year, the experts and institutions participating in ITPA activities came exclusively from publicly funded research centres. Staff from privately funded initiatives could be invited to attend individual topical group meetings on an ad-hoc basis, but they were excluded from long-term involvement in ITPA research activities. As announced in a recent Newsline article, this was set to change this year thanks to the modifications recently implemented in the ITPA Charter and the International Energy Agency (IEA) Technology Collaboration Programme on Tokamak Programmes (CTP TCP), which provides the legal basis for the implementation of ITPA activities. Devon Battaglia, Head of Physics Operations for Commonwealth Fusion Systems, shares plans for SPARC with the ITPA Integrated Operation Scenarios Topical Group. SPARC is a high-magnetic-field tokamak designed to demonstrate net energy gain across the fusion plasma. Taking advantage of these new possibilities, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) recently completed all of the formal steps to join the IEA CTP-TCP agreement and the ITPA, which enables selected members of its staff to join the ITPA activities. The collaboration began last week, with staff joining (by teleconference and in person) the meetings of two topical groups: the Integrated Operational Scenarios group and the Divertor and Scrape-Off Layer Physics group.At its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts, CFS is building SPARC: a high-magnetic-field tokamak designed to demonstrate net energy gain across the fusion plasma and planned as a commercially relevant precursor to a fusion power plant called ARC. Both SPARC and ARC are designed with high-temperature superconductor magnet technology.The ITER Organization and Members look forward to a fruitful collaboration between public and privately funded initiatives—in the framework of both the ITPA and other channels for knowledge transfer—for mutual benefit and to speed up the development of fusion as a practical energy source.

Wendelstein 7-X—the leading fusion device of the stellarator type—achieved several new performance milestones during its latest run of experiments. Among them is a world record for triple product, the value that measures how close a fusion device is to generating net energy across the plasma.  Also called the Lawson Criteria, fusion triple product defines the threshold that must be exceeded for a plasma to produce more fusion power than the heating power injected. It marks the point where the energy balance across the plasma becomes positive, and the fusion reaction can sustain itself without (or with greatly reduced) external heating. The triple product is derived from three factors—ion temperature (T), density (n) and energy confinement time (Ï„). In any future fusion power plant, a plasma with a high triple product must be maintained for long periods. On the last day of its OP 2.3 campaign, which ended on May 22, the Wendelstein 7-X device sustained a new peak value of this key fusion parameter for 43 seconds. While high values of fusion triple product have been achieved during plasma durations of a few seconds in devices like JT-60U (Japan, decommissioned in 2008) and JET (Europe), this is a new world record for triple product in long plasma discharges."Elevating the triple product to tokamak levels during long plasma pulses marks another important milestone on the way toward a power-plant-capable stellarator," said Thomas Klinger, Head of Operations at Wendelstein 7-X and Head of Stellarator Dynamics and Transport at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, Germany.According to the IPP press release, the triple product world record for long pulses was made possible by the close collaboration between the Wendelstein 7-X team in Greifswald, the European fusion consortium EUROfusion, and partners from the United States. A pellet injector developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory fuelled the plasma with a steady supply of hydrogen particles and permitted the long plasma durations achieved. Other laboratories in Europe and the United States provided the diagnostics to measure the different factors entering into the triple product calculation.During the campaign, the team also obtained milestones for energy turnover (maintaining continuous high-energy input and removing the generated heat) and plasma pressure relative to magnetic pressure.“The records of this experimental campaign are much more than mere numbers," said Robert Wolf, Head of Stellarator Heating and Optimization. "They represent a significant step forward in validating the stellarator concept—made possible through outstanding international collaboration.”Read the full press release on the IPP website.

On 4 June, the Cooperation Agreement between the ITER Organization and the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NNC RK), originally signed in 2017, was officially extended another five years. The agreement aims to strengthen collaboration "in areas of mutual interest, based on reciprocity and mutual benefit." The updated scope includes the exchange of scientists and experts, as well as scientific and technical cooperation related to the ITER project.This agreement strengthens the ITER Organization’s ties with a well-established fusion research community. The NNC RK has collaborated with some countries already working for ITER—in Europe, Japan, and Russia—and offers access to valuable research infrastructure. Notably, the KTM tokamak, capable of generating plasma fluxes up to 20 MW/m², provides a unique platform for testing materials and diagnostics under ITER-relevant conditions.Renewing this agreement is part of ITER Organization efforts to build strategic partnerships that support the success of the project.

Fusion researchers are constantly challenging the scientific state-of-the-art and improving the technology thereby creating the conditions for innovation, much of which can be exploited in other science and industrial sectors for the benefit of society. The SOFT Innovation Prize highlights and rewards excellence in innovation that can be found in fusion research as well as the quality of the researchers and industries involved. Following the success of 2022 and 2024 editions of the SOFT Innovation Prize, the European Commission is holding the contest again in association with the next Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT), which will be held in Aix-en-Provence, France, from 21 to 25 September 2026.The contest is open to researchers, research teams, or industrial participants eligible for funding under the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025, to researchers or research teams working for a national program in an ITER partner country or in any third country that has a bilateral fusion cooperation agreement with Euratom in force, and to industrial participants participating in the ITER project.There are no specific categories for this prize. Participants are free to submit an application concerning any physics or technology innovation that has been developed in magnetic confinement fusion research and that has market potential or has been taken up (or recognized) by industry to be further developed for the market.Entries will be assessed on originality and replicability, technical excellence, economic impact, exploitation, and plans for further development. Proposals are studied by an independent jury composed of experts in technology transfer, from business and academia.The deadline to submit applications is 03 March 2026. See further details on the SOFT Innovation Prize 2026 website.

The European Commission has published a four-week Call for Evidence to collect feedback and provide input for the European Union’s (EU's) first-ever Fusion Strategy. Programmed for publication by the end of 2025, the strategy will be a key step to position the EU at the world forefront of fusion development and accelerate commercial fusion energy in the EU. Through this Call for Evidence, the Commission invites research stakeholders, industry and startups as well as private investors to provide inputs to shape the strategy and identify the most effective actions to support fusion development and deployment. Available in all 24 official EU languages, the Call for Evidence is open until 1 July 2025.See this news feature or participate directly in the Call for Evidence.

The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) has released its 2025 Supply Chain Report. The annual report, which surveyed 22 private fusion companies and 57 suppliers, finds a 73% spending increase among respondants, from around USD 250 million in 2023 to USD 434 million in 2024 (and not all companies responded). The FIA anticipates that supply chain spending will grow by another 25% this year. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed saw their fusion-related business increase last year. The 57 suppliers who responded reported investing a combined USD 230 million on building new capacity (including people and machinery) to support this growth.Concerns remain amongst fusion companies and suppliers regarding challenges in meeting the increasing demand. Nearly a third of fusion companies (31%) expressed concern about the availability of precision engineering and manufacturing suppliers to meet current commercial needs, rising to 63% for future needs. Every company surveyed named at least one key component or material where they had concerns about short- or long-term availability. From the report: "Overall, the biggest challenge remains the 'chicken or egg' problem; suppliers need to know that there will be a market to invest in, but fusion companies struggle to commit long-term in advance of hitting timeline milestones. A third of suppliers (31%) are prepared to take the risk of growing capacity to support fusion, and almost half (46%) will do so if there is some risk-sharing. Nonetheless, 83% currently see business risks associated with selling to the fusion industry."The report can be downloaded from the FIA website at this address.