The ITER international fusion project is a unique blend of basic science – to enable scientists to study never-before-seen plasma physics phenomena – and the first-of-a-kind engineering needed to support this research platform.
The applied science outcome hoped for, the capacity to harness fusion as a safe, clean, abundant source of energy, builds on fundamental scientific research that will have implications for many other fields.
ITER is also unique for its collaboration model: the seven Members (China, Europe as host, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States) are manufacturing components in hundreds of factories on three continents, which must then be shipped to France for assembly into a single device.
This presentation by Laban Coblentz, the Head of Communication of ITER, will report on the progress of the ITER project and the global fusion science enterprise.
