27th ITER Council

Assembly moves ahead

19 Nov 2020 - ITER Communication

The Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the ITER Council took place by videoconference on 18 and 19 November 2020, chaired by LUO Delong from China. Representatives of the seven ITER Members evaluated project progress and achievements since the previous meeting in June, and noted that: "The project has largely managed to continue its robust performance, both with respect to Members' delivery of first-of-a-kind components and worksite installation and assembly activities."

For the second meeting in a row, proceedings took place entirely on line. Representatives of China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States all logged in at 12:00 p.m. CET.

Over two days, the ITER Council evaluated the progress of manufacturing, construction, and assembly, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major milestones reached in recent months—including the installation of the cryostat lower cylinder and the start of cryostat welding in the Tokamak pit, the arrival of the first vacuum vessel sector, the start of poloidal field cold testing, sustained plant installation activities, successful assembly tool qualification, and the arrival of four D-shaped coils—were celebrated, and the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies received commendation for the "resourcefulness and resolute implementation" of a continuity plan under challenging COVID-19 conditions.

Some impacts on the schedule towards achieving First Plasma in 2025 have been identified, but still remain to be assessed after consideration of mitigation measures.