Research status

Work on the building site at Cadarache and production of machine components throughout the world are in full swing.


The planning work was completed in mid-2001. Agreement was reached in June 2005 to site the experiment at Cadarache in the south of France. The agreement to establish the international ITER Organisation was signed in Paris on 21 November 2006. After ratification by the governments of the partners the ITER Agreement became effective on 24 October 2007.

Preparation of the Cadarache site commenced in January 2007. This phase of the over 100-acre site lasted till April 2009; it was then ready to house the buildings and laboratories of the ITER project. The first batch of concrete flowed in 2010; construction and and production of machine components is meanwhile in full swing. Europe will meet 45 percent of the building costs, the remainder being equally shared met by the other six partners.

By November 2017, half of the work required for the first plasma in 2025 – machine design, buildings, component manufacture, shipping and delivery – had been completed. A virtual ceremony at the end of July 2020 marked the official start of assembly of the ITER device. Meanwhile, more and more machine parts from all over the world have been arriving at the ITER site. In June 2021, according to the ITER team, a total of 73 per cent of all work pending until the first plasma had been carried out.

The first plasma in ITER is scheduled around the year 2025. About 1000 scientists, engineers, and technicians will then work on the device for some 20 years.

 

Technical data
Total radius 10,7 metres
Hight (overall) 30 metres
Plasma radius 6,2 metres
Plasma volume 837 cubic metres
Plasma quantity 0,5 grams
Plasma mixture hydrogen, deuterium, tritium
Magnetic field 5,3 tesla
Max. plasma current 15 megamperes
Heating power, current drive
73 megawatts
Fusion power
500 megawatts
Energy amplification
factor 10
Mean plasma temperature 100 million degrees
Burn time
> 400 seconds
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