Of Interest archive

The ITER Organization has opened its 2023 internship program with the publication of 66 offers on the ITER website. These opportunities are geared toward undergraduate and postgraduate students, with a broad array of topics across scientific, technical and support departments. Applicants must hold a passport from one of the countries participating in the ITER Project (the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA).

See this page to apply before 15 February 2023 (or 1 January 2023 for internships beginning in Q1 2023).

There are many ways to promote ITER and to reach out to the general public: Open Doors Days, site visits, exhibitions, conferences, publications, press interviews...

The year 2022 saw all of the above in terms of ITER Organization outreach, and one newcomer was added to the list—an outdoor exhibit at a rest stop on highway A51 north of the ITER site.

Organized in a circle, five large exterior panels tell the story of fusion energy and ITER through written and interactive content (through QR codes). For the thousands and thousands who travel the road heading north toward the Alps, it is a reminder that the region is home to a major international scientific collaboration that is building the world's largest tokamak. 

The exhibit was inaugurated on 12 December in the presence of the local authorities, representatives for Vinci Autoroutes (highway) and Argedis TotalEnergies (service station), and Head of the ITER Engineering Domain Alain Bécoulet.

--Left to right: Damien Laffon de Colonges, Vinci Autoroutes Director, south-east region; Jerome Dubois, Mayor of Volx; and ITER Alain Bécoulet.

Registration is open now for the 12th ITER International School, which will be held from 26 to 30 June 2023 in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Hosted by Aix-Marseille University, the 2023 school will address a particularly timely and multidisciplinary topic—"The Impact and Consequences of Energetic Particles on Fusion Plasmas." Plasma self-heating by fusion-born alpha-particles, the influence of energetic particles on stability, how to diagnose energetic particle transport and loss, and the understanding of runaway electrons are all part of the planned scientific program.

Click here to see the School website and for further information about registration.

--Cutting-edge predictive simulation with the ORB5 code [T. Hayward-Schneider] showing a fast ion driven instability (n=12 Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmode) in ITER.

The 28th International Conference on Magnet Technology (MT-28) will be held in Aix-en-Provence, France, during the week of 10 to 15 September 2023. Abstract submission is open now through 20 February 2023.

MT-28 is the major international forum for magnet-related technology and design. Conference aims are threefold: to diffuse into the scientific community information about new applications for magnets; to encourage an exchange between research activities and industrial applications; and to encourage professional scientists and engineers to follow careers in magnets. It will be supported in 2023 by the fusion project ITER, with opportunities to visit the nearby ITER site and see the huge ITER superconducting magnets in various stages of manufacturing and assembly.

The foundation of the conference remains the scientific program, with conference presenters having the opportunity to submit papers to a special edition of the prestigious IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity (impact factor > 1.9). 

Please see this website for abstract submission.

Follow the RAI team as it discovers the ITER Project through the eyes of three Italian members of ITER staff: Federico Forunato, a Section Leader in the Field Engineering Installation Division; Mario Merola, Head of the Plant Construction Department; and Sergio Orlandi, Head of the Engineering Design Department.

The 4-minute feature "Fusione nucleare," which aired on the RAI2 TV show Re Start on 21 November 2022, can be seen in replay at this address.

Thesis supervisors are invited to nominate a student for the 2022 FuseNet Master Thesis Prize by 1 February 2023.

FuseNet will award the prizes to students who write outstanding Master's theses that were (at least partially) carried out and completed across Europe. The prizes serve to highlight the important research that is carried out by dedicated and talented fusion students.

See more about the 2021 winners here.

Learn more about the nomination process on the FuseNet website.

The ITER community gathers on 2 December around the Christmas tree offered by ITER's neighbours and hosts, the town of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance. At the foot of the tree is the Provençal crèche, with the traditional nativity scene plus figures that depict village life such as The Mayor, The Lace-Maker, The Apothecary, and the Shepherd (bowing into the fierce Mistral wind). A tree has been delivered to the ITER Organization by the town of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance for 11 consecutive years—ever since ITER Headquarters opened in 2012.

--From left to right: Eisuke Tada, Deputy of the Director-General; Romain Buchaut, Mayor of Saint Paul; and Laban Coblentz, Head of Communication.

EUROfusion grant programs aim to promote the education and training of a new generation of scientists and engineers in the fusion field.

EUROfusion Engineering Grants (EEG) are open to early career engineers within three years after their Master or PhD (or six years if relevant professional (industry) experience can be demonstrated). They enable selected candidates to specialize in a EUROfusion-relevant engineering topic.

EUROfusion research grants (ERG)—now renamed the EUROfusion Bernard Bigot Researcher Grants in honour of the former ITER Director-General—are attributed at postdoctoral level or equivalent to develop innovative ideas and techniques to advance EUROfusion's Roadmap to Fusion Energy.

The results of the latest campaign have just been announced by EUROfusion, with a total of 22 beneficiaries.

Click to read about the awardees under the EEG and ERG programs.

The JT-60SA tokamak—a joint program of fusion research and development agreed and co-financed by the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the government of Japan—could restart cooldown operations and coil energization as early as March 2023, according to an article published by Fusion for Energy (Barcelona), the implementing agency for Euratom.

In 2021, a short circuit at the terminals of one of the machine's largest poloidal field coils had necessitated a pause in commissioning and a thorough assessment and analysis. One year of repair and further testing is now behind the joint Japan-Europe team, and plans are being laid for the restart of commissioning and possible first plasma next year.

See the full report on the Fusion for Energy website. 

ITER will procure the tritium fuel necessary for its research program from the global inventory. But the fusion power reactors of the future will have to produce all of the tritium fuel they require for operation from within their own vessels.

ITER's Tritium Breeding Module (TBM) Program, involving the ITER Organization and all seven ITER Members, is a research activity that will run in parallel to the main ITER research program. In this latest ITER Talk, Luciano Giancarli, head of the Tritium Breeding Blanket System Section, explains how ITER will provide a unique opportunity to test the feasibility of tritium breeding. 

First, he walks us through the principles behind tritium breeding—what a breeding blanket looks like, how to achieve it in principle, and in practice, and what are the potential candidates for breeding blanket materials. Next, he delves into the ITER TBM Program, which aims to test complete tritium breeding blanket mockups in reactor-relevant conditions. Space allocations in the machine and four initial TBM concepts have already been decided.

Finally, he describes the objectives of the test program and how they fit into the ITER Research Plan.

Watch the tenth episode of ITER Talks here.

See the full ITER Talks playlist on YouTube here.

The Japanese Domestic Agency has released a JAPAN Edition of the 2021-2022 ITER Organization photobook.

The main difference from the original? A significantly expanded gallery of manufacturing photos from Japan. See pages 76 to 90 for an idea of the broad expertise and knowhow that ITER Japan suppliers are bringing to bear in completing their commitments to the ITER Project.

Powerful gyrotron devices, robotic manipulators, advanced diagnostics, precise divertor targets, superconducting magnets ... view, or download, the JAPAN Edition of the 2021-2022 ITER Organization photobook here.

Tuesday 15 November was Energy Day at the COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and fusion was part of the discussion through a panel called "Fusion: Clean Energy for All" (UNFCCC Pavilion).

The one-hour discussion was hosted by Gabriela Hearst, Creative Director of Chloé, and moderated by Jane Hotchkiss of the NGO Energy for the Common Good. Invited panelists were: Tim Bestwick, Chief Technical Officer at the UKAEA; David Livingston, Senior Advisor in the office of US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry; Jennifer Ganten, Chief Movement Builder at Commonwealth Fusion Systems (US); and Jessie Barton, Communications Lead at Helion Energy (US).

You can watch the full replay of the discussion here.

If you are a European company registered in a Fusion for Energy (F4E) member country, you can apply by 17 February 2023 to F4E's Technology Transfer Fusion Demonstrator Project Award.

The award (EUR 35,000) will go to a company that sees a use for its fusion technology outside of the traditional fusion market. 

In collaboration with In Extenso Innovation Croissance, Fusion for Energy seeks to unleash your entrepreneurial potential by helping you to carry out a project that integrates a fusion technology in a non-fusion application.

To read more about the requirements and guidelines, see this open call.

For more information about F4E's Technology Transfer Marketplace, click here.

For three days every year, the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin invites some of the most important researchers and thinkers of the day to discuss "Which are the next walls to fall in science and society?" with global leaders in science, politics, business, and the media.

During the 2022 edition, a panel titled "Advances in Fusion Technology/Breakthrough in Unlimited Energy Generation" was animated by Constantin Häfner, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT; Peter Leibinger, Vice Chairman and CTO of TRUMPF (high-tech manufacturing solutions); ITER's Chief Scientist Tim Luce; and Vinod Philip, Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy. The discussion was moderated by plasma physicist Melanie Windridge, Founder of Fusion Energy Insights. 

The main takeaway of the 50-minute discussion was that fusion energy should no longer be considered a "technology of the future." Just as mature science is converging with increasingly powerful technologies such as AI and computer modelling, there is a real interest—and real investment—by governments and the private sector. It is a good time for industry to get involved, both from the point of view of helping to solve the technical challenges that remain and for the kind of long-term visionary bets that can help accelerate the emergence of a fusion industry.  

Replay the livestream of the event on the Falling Walls website here (from 6:26:50 to 7:18:16).

The 12th ITER International School will be held from 26 to 30 June 2023, hosted by Aix-Marseille University in Aix-en-Provence, France.

The subject of the 2023 school is "The Impact and Consequences of Energetic Particles on Fusion Plasmas" with a scientific program coordinated by Simon Pinches (ITER Organization). As the start of ITER operations approaches, it is timely to address this multidisciplinary topic that includes plasma self-heating by fusion-born alpha-particles, the influence of energetic particles on stability, diagnosing energetic particle transport and loss, and understanding runaway electrons.

Click here for further information on the 2023 school. Find out more about past schools here.

--Cutting-edge predictive simulation with the ORB5 code [T. Hayward-Schneider] showing a fast ion driven instability (n=12 Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmode) in ITER.

The European Commission's DG ENER (unit D4) has produced two new videos on ITER and fusion. The first (ITER - Technology) focuses on European Union investment in fusion over the years and explains the basic principles of fusion; the second (ITER - Ecology) showcases fusion as a possible future source of clean, efficient and reliable energy.

Watch ITER-Technology here.
Watch ITER-Ecology here.
See all language versions on this page.

The B1M, a popular video channel for construction, architecture and engineering, and the Nemetschek Group, a leading software providers for the same industries, named ITER as the Construction Story of the Year award on 2 November 2022 in Munich.

The expert judging panel was "particularly impressed by the extraordinary levels of collaboration between the construction team, and the scheme's propensity to inspire future generations of engineers."

"ITER is a remarkable project that impressively demonstrates what the construction industry is able to achieve. The team has come together collaborating across international borders working on a massive project scale inspiring this and future generations of engineers and all roles contributing to our built world. The project team has proven that working together knows no bounds—regardless of segment, trade or project size, amazing goals can be realized," said Don Jacob, VP Technology and Innovation, Build & Construct Division at the Nemetschek Group.

The Construction Story of the Year program aims to highlight the world's most impressive and inspiring construction stories, seeking out amazing projects, ideas or initiatives that show the best of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. It aims particularly to highlight innovation in the construction industry and projects that represent its digital transformation. 

Read press releases from The B1M and the Nemetschek Group.

See the video published about ITER by The B1M channel in April 2022.

--Jens Reich, Head of ITER's Vessel Delivery and Assembly Division (centre) at the ceremony in Munich on 2 November 2022, alongside The B1M founder Fred Mills (left) and Nemetschek's VP of Technology and Innovation, Build and Construct Division, Don Jacob (right).

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently signed an agreement to forge a partnership to strengthen education, training, and outreach programs in nuclear fusion research all over the world.

Steve Cowley, PPPL director, and Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA deputy director general and head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, signed the agreement at the 66th IAEA General Conference on Sept. 28 in Vienna.

The goal of the program is to help train the next generation of scientists, engineers and technicians who can contribute to develop fusion energy as a clean, green and plentiful source of electricity, Cowley said. The IAEA, which is based in Vienna, is the world organization for intergovernmental cooperation in the nuclear field, with 175 member states.

See the full announcement on the PPPL website.

The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) has joined the EUROfusion consortium as an associate partner.

UiT's dedicated plasma research centre in Tromsø, DYNAMO, has collaborated for years with European fusion labs on stand-alone projects. With UiT's associate membership comes an observer status in EUROfusion's decision making body and full access to the consortium's research data and facilities such as jointly operated fusion devices and computing centres.

See the full announcement on the EUROfusion website.

General Atomics, the American company that operates the DIII-D National Fusion Facility for the US Department of Energy, announced plans on 20 October 2022 for a steady-state, compact fusion power plant based on an advanced tokamak design.

According to Wayne Solomon, Vice President of Magnetic Fusion Energy at General Atomics, the company's practical approach to a fusion power plant (FPP) is "...the culmination of more than six decades of investments in fusion research and development, the experience we have gained from operating the DIII-D National Fusion Facility..., and the hard work of countless dedicated individuals. This is a truly exciting step towards realizing fusion energy."

The facility would utilize the company's proprietary Fusion Synthesis Engine (FUSE) to enable engineers, physicists, and operators to rapidly perform a broad range of studies and continuously optimize the power plant for maximum efficiency. General Atomics has also developed an advanced modular concept (GAMBL) for the breeding blanket which is a critical component (of the fusion power facility) that breeds tritium, a fusion energy fuel source, to make the fusion fuel cycle self-sufficient.

Read the full press release here.