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34th ITER Council

Updated baseline presented

20 Jun 2024

Nearly 100 people met for two days last week for the 34th Meeting of the ITER Council. The meeting was an important one, as the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies presented a proposed update of the project baseline. Re-baselining has three objectives: optimizing the overall project schedule, minimizing the delay to the start of substantial research operations (full magnet current, deuterium-deuterium fusion operation, etc.), and lowering licensing and technical risks. 

Member delegates, their experts and interpreters, and representatives of the ITER Organization and the ITER Domestic Agencies, convene as part of the 34th ITER Council on 19 and 20 June 2024. Also present were the Chairs of the ITER Council advisory committees, the High French Representative for ITER, and a senior advisor to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On taking office in October 2022, Director-General Pietro Barabaschi launched a program of project reform, with the support of the Domestic Agencies and under the supervision of the ITER Council. These reforms included streamlined project management, heightened attention to quality control, and enhanced reporting. In addition, they addressed the need to develop a revised project baseline, due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and technical challenges linked to the first-of-a-kind nature of many components.

At the 34th Meeting of the ITER Council, which took place on 19 and 20 June 2024, the ITER Organization, with support from the Domestic Agencies, submitted a proposed update to the project baseline for the Council's consideration.

The proposed new baseline would prioritize the start of substantial research operations as rapidly as possible by consolidating tokamak assembly stages, enhancing pre-assembly testing, and reducing machine assembly and commissioning risks. The proposal designs a path to a scientifically and technically robust initial phase of operations, including deuterium-deuterium fusion operation in 2035 followed by full magnetic energy and plasma current operation. 

The Council reaffirmed that the fusion operations pursued by ITER remain strongly relevant for global fusion research and development and the national fusion programs of the ITER Members. The proposed baseline will be further evaluated, including the cost and schedule implications of this new approach, before the Council reconvenes in November 2024.  

ITER Director-General Barabaschi will hold a hybrid press conference (in-person and remote) at 10:30 a.m. CET on 3 July 2024. All details will be posted on the ITER website under Events. 

During the two-day meeting, the Council also received reports on the progress of construction (including repairs of key components), manufacturing, assembly, and licensing; appointed Ms DeLeah Lockridge (United States) as Head of the Engineering Services Department; and welcomed the engagement of the project with private fusion sector initiatives.

See the press release in English or French.

Chinese delegation, from left to right: Sun Jian, Deputy Director-General, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST); Zhang Yi, Deputy Director, Department of Arms Control, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Chen Jiachang, Head of Delegation, Vice Minister, MOST.
European delegation, from left to right: Carlos Alejaldre, Chair of the Governing Board, Fusion for Energy; Jan Panek, Head of Delegation, Director, DG ENER, European Commission; François Jacq, France's High Representative for ITER and CEA Administrator General.
From left to right: Massimo Garribba, Chair of the ITER Council; Pietro Barabaschi, ITER Director-General.
Indian delegation, from left to right: Ravi Bhushan Grover, Head of Delegation, Member, Atomic Energy Commission; Mahaboob Basha Syed, Technical Advisor, Department of Atomic Energy.
Japanese delegation, from left to right: Masuko Hiroshi (reaching), Head of Delegation, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Baba Daisuke, Director, International Nuclear and Fusion Energy Affairs Division, MEXT; Ishikawa Katsutoshi, Director, International Science Cooperation Division, Disarmament, Non-proliferation and Science Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From left to right: Massimo Garribba, Chair of the ITER Council; Pietro Barabaschi, ITER Director-General; Yutaka Kamada, ITER Deputy-Director-General, Science & Technology.
Korean delegation, from left to right: Hyeon Gon Lee, Senior Advisor, Korea Institute of Fusion Energy; Changsun Lee, Head of Delegation, Director-General, Future Energy, Convergence and Public Mission R&D Policy Bureau, Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT); Yu Kyoung Song, interpreter; Yeongkook Oh, KFE President.
Russian delegation: Viktor Ilgisonis, third from right, Director for R&D, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM; Kirill Komarov, second from right, Head of Delegation, First Deputy Director General ROSATOM; Marina Zbaratskaya, Interpreter, ITER Russia.
Delegation from the United States, from left to right: Jean Paul Allain, Associate Director for Fusion Energy Sciences, Office of Science, US Department of Energy (DOE); Harriet Kung, Head of Delegation, Acting Director of the Office of Science, DOE; Sarah Staton, Deputy Director, Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of State.
At the 34th Meeting of the ITER Council, which took place on 19 and 20 June 2024 at ITER Headquarters in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France, the ITER Organization, with support from the Domestic Agencies, submitted a proposed update to the project baseline for the Council's consideration.
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