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ITER Council endorses updated project schedule

21 Nov 2016 - ITER Communication

During the Nineteenth Meeting of the ITER Council held last week from 16 to 17 November, representatives of the ITER Members reviewed the complete updated project schedule as proposed by the ITER Organization. The schedule, which covers the period up to First Plasma in 2025 and on to Deuterium-Tritium Operation in 2035, was approved by all Members.

IC_19_Group_1.jpg
During the Council meeting on 16-17 November, representatives of China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States discussed the detailed updated baseline (scope, schedule, cost and risks) for ITER through the start of Deuterium-Tritium Operation in 2035.
Building on renewed confidence achieved through the past 18 months of sustained strong performance in construction and manufacturing, the updated 2016-2035 schedule reflects the consensus and integrated efforts of the ITER Organization and the seven Domestic Agencies.
 
The overall project schedule was approved by all ITER Members, and the overall project cost was approved ad referendum, meaning that it will now fall to each Member to seek approval of project costs through respective governmental budget processes.
 
The Council stressed that the successful completion of all 19 project milestones for 2016, on time and on budget, provides tangible evidence of full adherence to commitments by all Members. These milestones had been approved by the ITER Council one year ago as a way to track project momentum while discussions were underway on the long-term schedule.
 
The updated schedule through Deuterium-Tritium Operation (2035) selects a "staged approach" after First Plasma as a way to increase confidence and minimize risk. In the staged approach to assembling ITER, assembly phases will alternate with periods of operation.
 
Read the full press release in English or French.
View the photo gallery from the Nineteenth ITER Council (IC-19) below.

The Head of Delegation for the US Member is Adam Cohen, Deputy Under Secretary for Science and Energy, US Department of Energy (second from left). Other US delegation members are Edmund Synakowsk (left), Associate Director for Fusion Energy Sciences, Office of Science, DOE; and Robert J Ford, Senior Advisor, Office of Space and Advanced Technology, OES, US Department of State. On the right side of the image are the two ITER Deputy Director-Generals, Eisuke Tada (Relations Coordinating Officer) and Gyung-Su Lee (Chief Operating Officer), and the ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot.
Representing the Japanese Member: Kazuo Todani, Head of Delegation, Deputy Minister of MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and Shigekazu Matsuura, Director of the International Nuclear and Fusion Energy Affairs Division of the MEXT Research and Development Bureau.
From the European Member: Joaquín Sánchez, Chair of the Fusion for Energy (F4E) Governing Board; and Johannes Schwemmer, F4E Director.
The heads of the European and Russian Domestic Agencies: Johannes Schwemmer and Anatoly Krasilnikov.
During a break on the first day, ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot and Council Chair Won Namkung consult.
Representing the Indian Member (left to right): Shishir Deshpande, head of the Indian Domestic Agency; Ravi Bhushan Grover, Head of Delegation and Member of the Atomic Energy Commission; Shashank Chaturvedi, Director of the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR); and Ujjwal Baruah, Project Manager for ITER India, IPR.
Shishir Deshpande, head of the Indian Domestic Agency, tests a new promotional tool—a viewbox that takes the viewer on an aerial tour of the ITER construction works.
The official group photo for the Nineteenth Meeting of the ITER Council, with representatives of the ITER Members China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States.
Honorary ITER Council Fellow Evgeny Velikhov is also the Emeritus President of the Russian Kurchatov Institute and former ITER Council Chair.
The Head of Delegation for the Russian Member, Igor Borovkov, is assisted by interpreter Marina Zbaratskaya.
ITER Deputy Director-General Gyung-Su Lee (Chief Operating Officer) and Finance & Procurement Department Head Kattalai Ramachandran Sriram.
Chairman of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and High Representative for ITER in France Daniel Verwaerde (left); and the Director of Agence Iter France, Jacques Vayron.
The ITER Council delegates were led on a tour of recent construction progress by ITER Director-General Bigot.
The ITER Council is responsible, in accordance with the ITER Agreement, for the promotion and overall direction of the ITER Organization. The two regular meetings every year (June and November) can be supplemented by an extraordinary meeting for the examination of specific issues.
Representing Korea: (sitting, left to right) Hyeon Gon Lee, Deputy Director-General of ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI); Chaegwon Lim, Deputy Director for the Fusion R&D Support Team, MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning); Tae Min Bae, Head of Delegation, Director-General for the Space, Nuclear and Big Science Policy Bureau, MSIP; interpreter Haejin Oh; and Myeun Kwon, Research Fellow, NFRI. Standing are Ki-Jung Jung, Director-General of ITER Korea, NFRI and Seung-Min Shin, Leader of the External Relations Team, ITER Korea, NFRI.
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