Paul-Henri Rebut, a fusion visionary

The manufacture of the five ITER vacuum vessel sectors in Europe was a formidable industrial undertaking that took 16 years to complete. In this video, the European Domestic Agency, Fusion for Energy, takes viewers behind the scenes of the final sector’s manufacture as engineers and project representatives reflect on the technical innovation and industrial collaboration required to fulfil the broader mission. With the arrival of vacuum vessel sector #2—the last of the sectors—at ITER in October 2026, all major components needed to complete the core of the machine are now on site.

Watch the four-minute video on the Fusion for Energy YouTube page.

Over nearly two decades, Europe's contribution to ITER has helped create the world's largest fusion supply chain. A new report from Fusion for Energy (F4E), Building the European Fusion Supply Chain, traces the development of an industrial ecosystem comprising at least 2,700 companies and 75 research organizations, supported by EUR 7 billion in investment. Beyond delivering first-of-a-kind components for ITER, this investment has strengthened European industrial capabilities, fostered innovation and developed expertise essential to future fusion projects. The report examines the procurement strategies behind this transformation and how Europe can maintain its competitiveness as fusion moves toward commercialization.

Read more and access the report on the F4E website.

During a visit to ITER in October, Jeronimo Garcia, project leader of the JT-60SA tokamak, presented results from the Japanese-European machine's first operating campaign in 2023 and 2024. His presentation covered plasma performance, lessons from early operation, and modelling efforts for future experiments, as well as preparations underway for its next restart.

The discussion emphasized how operational experience gained on JT-60SA contributes to reducing risks and advancing knowledge for future fusion devices, while also supporting the broader international fusion roadmap toward fusion energy. 

Under a collaboration agreement signed in 2019, ITER is directly benefitting from the experience gained in fusion activities under the Broader Approach Agreement—and in particular the assembly, installation, integrated commissioning and operation of JT-60SA.

Productive exchanges were held with ITER experts on plasma scenarios, machine operation, diagnostics, and strategies for maximizing scientific output in upcoming experimental campaigns.

Read more on the JT-60SA website.

--Jeronimo Garcia (right) tours the ITER Assembly Hall with Alberto Loarte, ITER Science Division head.

The JOREK magneto-hydro-dynamic simulation code now available open source, allowing scientists across the worldwide fusion community to contribute to and validate the code against experiments.

JOREK is extensively used for modelling of plasma disruptions, which are the most intense plasma instabilities in tokamaks, and the associated thermal and electromagnetic loads on components installed inside ITER’s vacuum vessel to protect it from plasma and neutron impact. However, its most important application for ITER is the study and improvement of the efficiency of disruption mitigation. JOREK can accurately simulate the physics of the injection of shattered pellets and the resulting 3-dimensional evolution of the magnetic field, which determines the deposition of energy and particles (including runaway electrons) in the large-scale plasma disturbances that take place during disruptions. 

Access the JOREK code in the ITER IMAS repository.