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ITER Fusion Reactor

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description ITER Fusion Reactor Overview

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a massive international project aiming to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. ITER will create and control a plasma hot enough and dense enough to produce sustained fusion reactions, paving the way for a clean and virtually limitless energy source.

help ITER Fusion Reactor FAQ

What countries are collaborating to build the ITER fusion reactor?

ITER is a massive international collaboration funded and run by seven member entities: the EU, China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the USA. These members share the costs and technology to build the facility in southern France.

When is the ITER fusion reactor expected to be fully operational?

The ITER project has experienced several delays and is currently scheduled to begin deuterium-tritium operations around the mid-2030s. The exact timeline has shifted over the years due to the complex engineering required to build the world's largest tokamak.

What is the primary scientific goal of the ITER project?

ITER aims to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale, carbon-free energy source by producing 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of input heating power. This would demonstrate a tenfold energy return, known as Q≥10.

How does ITER contain plasma that is hotter than the sun?

ITER uses a device called a tokamak, which utilizes massive superconducting magnets to confine a plasma of hydrogen isotopes. This magnetic field suspends the incredibly hot plasma away from the physical walls of the reactor's vacuum vessel.

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