ITER takes another step towards full-current trials of select superconducting magnets. Preparations are underway to test a 330-tonne toroidal field coil at 34 kA, more than three times the current achieved during the launch of operations at ITER’s magnet cold test facility earlier this year.Testing began in May at the facility, the world’s largest superconducting magnet test bench, when toroidal field coil #7 was successfully cooled to 4 K and energized to 10 kA. After modifications to the electrical system to allow higher currents, toroidal field coil #17 was installed and cooled to 4 K in approximately 10 days—faster than the previous cooldown. However, during initial electrical tests, higher-than-expected resistance was detected in one of the feeder joints. An investigation traced the resistance to oxidation on one of the contact surfaces. The issue has now been resolved and the coil will be cooled again to 4 K ahead of the next electrical testing campaign targeting 34 kA. Further upgrades to the ITER magnet cold test facility, including additional structural reinforcement, are planned before the start of 68 kA testing, which will begin with toroidal field coil #19.

During a series of high-level meetings in Tokyo in July, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi highlighted recent progress on the project and reaffirmed the importance of Japan’s continued political, scientific and industrial support for the international fusion effort. Minoru Kihara, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, welcomed ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi, Deputy Director-General Yutaka Kamada, and Deputy Head of ITER Construction Project Takayoshi Omae, reaffirming Japan’s continued high-level engagement with the ITER project and the international effort to advance fusion energy. The meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara was the highest-ranking political meeting of the mission, representing the Prime Minister’s Office. Director-General Barabaschi expressed his appreciation for Japan’s long-standing role in ITER and for the country’s continuing contributions to the project. “Japanese contributions are highly appreciated,” he stressed, underlining the importance of Japan’s scientific, industrial and governmental support to ITER’s mission. MEXT Minister Yohei Matsumoto (second from right) receives the ITER delegation. As part of the same mission, Director-General Barabaschi also held a meeting with Yohei Matsumoto, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and his team. MEXT is the ministry responsible for ITER in Japan and a principal source of funding for Japan's contribution to the project. Director-General Barabaschi reported the latest construction progress at ITER and exchanged views on the importance of developing next-generation fusion talent.The Director-General also paid a courtesy visit to Minoru Kiuchi, who is in charge of Japan's Growth Strategy, Startups, Economic and Fiscal Policy, and Regulatory Reform in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet. Minister Kiuchi visited ITER in April 2025 and participated in ITER’s Fusion Energy Day event at Expo 2025. Across these meetings, the Director-General emphasized the importance of maintaining strong cooperation between ITER and Japan as the project advances. The mission to Japan highlighted the continued value of political, scientific and industrial cooperation in advancing fusion energy. Through its sustained participation in ITER, Japan remains a major partner in the global effort to demonstrate fusion energy at a scale relevant for future energy systems. A courtesy visit with Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Minoru Kiuchi.

Under a new agreement signed in June 2026, ITER and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) have launched a joint postdoctoral training program that will give early-career researchers the opportunity to conduct fusion research at both institutions under the supervision of experts from China and ITER. ASIPP will be creating a series of postdoctoral positions focused on research topics of mutual interest to the ITER Organization and ASIPP. The selected researchers will be employed by ASIPP and jointly supervised by experts from both organizations. The positions are offered for a two-year term, with research carried out both at ITER and at ASIPP headquarters. These postdoctoral positions are now open to application by Chinese nationals and nationals of other ITER Members. Further information, including application details, is available in Chinese and English here.

French YouTuber Amixem recently visited ITER for a video exploring three of France’s most “off-limit” locations, alongside secret areas of the Eiffel Tower and the French presidential plane. Filmed earlier this year, the visit included a tour of the Assembly Hall with project engineer Raphael Tieulent and the tokamak pit with assembly facility coordinator Isabelle Gentili.The video attracted more than two million views within its first 24 hours online and has since surpassed four million views.Drawing a parallel between the Eiffel Tower and ITER, Amixem remarked: “[The tower] was a kind of technological demonstration, a way of saying to the world: look at what we can do in our time. And I think ITER is exactly the same.”Amixem, whose real name is Maxime Chabroud, launched his YouTube channel in 2012 and today has around 9.5 million subscribers. According to vidIQ, his videos have generated more than 4.5 billion views. While he first gained popularity through gaming content, his channel has since expanded to include humour, challenges, travel, experiments, and large-scale documentary-style productions.The full video is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1bW68QJMUI. The video is in French and includes English subtitles as well as an automatically dubbed English audio track.