24th ITER Council

En route to First Plasma, 63% of the work is done

20 Jun 2019

The ITER Council has met for the twenty-fourth time since the signature of the ITER Agreement. Representatives from China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States reviewed project status, performance metrics and the organizational changes that are planned to help the project prepare for the start of machine assembly next year.

Representatives from every ITER Member convene in the Council Chamber on the fifth floor of ITER Headquarters for an intensive two-day program.

The ITER Council is responsible for the promotion and overall direction of the ITER Organization and has the authority to appoint the Director-General, to approve the Overall Project Cost (OPC) and Overall Project Schedule (OPS), to approve the annual budget, and to decide on the participation of additional states or organizations in the project. Meetings are held at least twice a year, with representatives from every ITER Member.

The two-day meeting this week (19-20 June) started off with the renewal of Director-General Bernard Bigot's contract. In keeping with the decision of the Council in January 2019, Director-General Bernard Bigot officially formalized his acceptance of a second five-year term (beginning 5 March 2020) by signing a contract with Council Chair Arun Srivastava.

Heads of Delegation from each ITER Member congratulate Director-General Bigot on the signature his contract.

Another important point of business was examining the internal organizational chart proposed for the next phase of project execution—machine assembly. The ITER Council approved the reorganization, which reflects the transition from an engineering/manufacturing project focus to one that facilitates the execution of assembly, installation and construction on site. The ITER Organization plans to have the new organization in place for January 2020, just before Assembly Phase I begins officially with the installation of the cryostat base in the Tokamak Building (March 2020).

Performance metrics show that, today, project execution to First Plasma stands at 63 percent. More than 70 percent of the buildings and infrastructure required for First Plasma are in place on the ITER construction site in Saint Paul-lez-Durance, France.

Read the full press release in English or French.