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31st ITER Council

Addressing challenges

21 Nov 2022

The project's governing body, the ITER Council, convened for the 31st time in its history on 16 and 17 November to evaluate the progress of construction, manufacturing, assembly, and commissioning. 

IC-31_Fisheye_1.jpg
It was the first ITER Council for Director-General Pietro Barabaschi (seen in profile), who took up his position just one month ago on 17 October.

Meeting in a hybrid format, with one Member attending by videoconference, delegations from China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United States reviewed the efforts of the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies as they work together to coordinate the delivery, assembly and installation of components.

The Council noted the ongoing fabrication and delivery of first-of-a-kind components, including most recently the departure for shipment of poloidal field coil #1; the progressive installation of plant support systems, including the installation of all magnet conversion equipment required for First Plasma and the initiation of subsystem commissioning for the cryogenics facility and cooling water plant; and onsite construction works, including substantial progress on the Tritium Building, the Control Building, and the Neutral Beam Power Supply buildings.

It also noted the need to address a number of concerns related to First-of-a-Kind components (see the related article in this issue). In particular, recent results from analysis of key components indicated the need for extensive repairs. The Council urged the Director-General to assess the impacts of these setbacks and commence the necessary repair work as soon as possible. In addition, the Council urged the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies to work together to ensure an appropriate project-wide quality culture to prevent any recurrence of such issues.

Council Members reaffirmed their strong belief in the value of the ITER mission, and resolved to work together to find timely solutions to facilitate ITER's success. The Council noted the ongoing pressures facing the project and encouraged all ITER Members to meet their in-kind and in-cash commitments to enable implementation of the construction, installation and assembly strategy.

See the full press release in English and in French.

 

During the all-project meeting that followed the 31st ITER Council, the heads of the Domestic Agencies joined the ITER Director-General and the Deputy of the Director-General on stage to field questions. From left to right: Director-General Pietro Barabaschi; Eisuke Tada, Deputy of the Director-General and Head of the Office of the Director-General; Jean-Marc Filhol, Director ad interim of the European Domestic Agency; Luo Delong, head of ITER China; Ujjwal Baruah, head of ITER India; Makoto Sugimoto, head of ITER Japan; Kijung Jung, head of ITER Korea; and Kathy McCarthy, head of US ITER. The head of ITER Russia, Anatoly Krasilnikov, attended by video connection.
The Council met for two days in a hybrid format, with the Russidan Federation Member attending by videoconference (the Russian delegation is visible on the monitors). Approximately 90 people took part in the 31st ITER Council in total.
ITER's new Director-General, Pietro Barabaschi, is flanked by ITER Council Chair Massimo Garribba from Europe (left in the photo) and Eisuke Tada, Deputy of the Director-General.
The Council meets two times per year, in June and in November, and occasionally for extraordinary sessions—as it did this year in September to appoint the new Director-General (see See this page). In-person meetings, which were impossible in 2020 and 2021, are once again customary.
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