ITER ("The Way" in Latin) is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today.

In southern France, 35 nations are collaborating to build the world's largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device that has been designed to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy based on the same principle that powers our Sun and stars.

ITER project in France

Construction of the ITER project in France is now 75% complete with first plasma scheduled for 2025. Courtesy ITER

The experimental campaign that will be carried out at ITER is crucial to advancing fusion science and preparing the way for the fusion power plants of tomorrow.

ITER is designed to yield in its plasma a ten-fold return on power (Q=10), or 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of input heating power. ITER will not convert the heating power it produces as electricity, but is paving the way for the next generation of fusion machines that will. That is because ITER will be the first fusion device to demonstrate many of the integrated technologies, materials, and physics regimes necessary for the next step, commercial production of fusion-based electricity.

Thousands of engineers and scientists have contributed to the design of ITER since the idea for an international joint experiment in fusion was first launched in 1985. The ITER Members—China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States—are now engaged in a collaboration to build and operate the ITER experimental device, and together bring fusion to the point where a demonstration fusion reactor can be designed.

ITER is a high priority project in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, and its success is critical for fusion energy to move forward in the U.S. and in the world. The success of ITER is the highest priority of the GA’s DIII-D program.

 

Visit the official ITER site for more information or the links below.