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.
Delegates to the Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the ITER Council (IC-24), which convened at ITER Headquarters on 19 and 20 June 2019.
In keeping with the decision of the Council in January, Director-General Bernard Bigot signs a contract for a second five-year term, to commence on 5 March 2020, with Council Chair Arun Srivastava.
EURATOM representatives: Joaquin Sánchez, Chair of the Governing Board, European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy; Head of Delegation Gerassimos Thomas, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission; François Jacq, High Representative for ITER in France and Chairman of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, CEA; Massimo Garribba, Director of Nuclear Energy, Safety and ITER, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission.
From the Russian Federation (left to right): Vladimir Vlasenkov, Deputy Head, ITER Russia; Viacheslav Pershukov, Head of Delegation, ROSATOM Special Representative on International, Science and Technology Projects; Viktor Ilgisonis (standing, right), Director of R&D programs for ROSATOM; Vitaly Korzhavin, Deputy Head ITER Russia; Sergei Lebedev, Deputy Director of the Ioffe Institute; Anatoly Krasilnikov, Head of ITER Russia.
Makoto Sugimoto, Director, Department of the ITER Project, Naka Fusion Institute, Fusion Energy Directorate, QST and Head of ITER Japan; and Toshiaki Kobayashi, Director, International Science Cooperation Division, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Representing Japan: Hiroshi Shirai, Senior Principal Researcher, Fusion Energy Directorate, QST; Yohji Seki, Principal Researcher, ITER and Broader Approach Promotion Group, Fusion Energy Directorate, QST; Taro Matsumoto, Group Leader, ITER and Broader Approach Promotion Group, Fusion Energy Directorate, QST; Kenkichi Ushigusa, Managing Director, Fusion Energy Directorate, QST; Masaki Taniguchi, Senior Principal Researcher, ITER and Broader Approach Promotion Group, Fusion Energy Directorate, QST.
Council Chair Arun Srivastava (right) is with ITER Council Secretary Sachiko Ishizaka. In the background: Takayoshi Omae, Deputy Head of Cabinet and Chief Strategist; Eric Welch, head of Human Resources; and Annegret Janssen, ITER Council Liaison Assistant.
The Heads of Delegation from Korea and India: Mi Ock Mun, Vice Minister, Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT); and Ravi Bhushan Grover, Member, Atomic Energy Commission.
Korean delegation members Dongmin Hwang, Deputy Director of the Space, Nuclear and Big Science Division, Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT); Kijung Jung, Director General of ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI); Hyeon Gon Lee, Vice-President NFRI; Suk Jae Yoo, President NFRI.
ITER Council members are introduced to the new timeline on the ground floor of ITER Headquarters, which retraces ITER—and fusion—history.
Head of Delegation HUANG Wei, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), is pictured in the Council Chamber with GUO Anna, Project Officer from ITER China (MOST).
Joaquin Sánchez (Chair of the Governing Board, European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy) and François Jacq (High Representative for ITER in France and Chairman of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, CEA).
Shashank Chaturvedi, Director of the Indian Institute for Plasma Research, takes a panoramic shot of the ITER worksite.
Shishir Deshpande, Scientific Officer from ITER India, Institute of Plasma Research; and Gyung-Su Lee, Chief Operating Officer of the ITER Organization, Deputy Director-General.