France's ITER research program may start before 2034

Scientific preparation work for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is currently about 7 months ahead of the original schedule, and the research program may start earlier than the previously set target of 2034. Anatoly Krasilnikov, Director of the ITER Project Center at Rosatom, revealed this progress during the "Technoprom-2026" forum.

Krasilnikov stated that the project team no longer uses the milestone term "first plasma," but has instead adjusted the objective to "start of the research program," with a target date of 2034. Based on the current progress, the work is 7 months ahead of schedule, and there is a possibility of achieving the goal ahead of time.

The ITER project aims to demonstrate the scientific and engineering feasibility of large-scale utilization of fusion energy. The facility is being constructed in Provence, France, near Marseille, and its scale is comparable to that of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the International Space Station (ISS).

According to reports, Russian enterprises and research institutions are developing 25 systems for ITER. In early summer this year, engineers completed the installation of 3 Russian gyrotron systems at the construction site in France. These gyrotron systems are important components of the electron cyclotron heating equipment for ITER.

ITER is jointly built by the European Union (EU), India, China, South Korea, Russia, the United States, and Japan. Among them, the EU bears approximately 45% of the construction costs, while the other members each bear approximately 9%. Krasilnikov stated that the project partners are currently maintaining good collaboration and are jointly seeking solutions to various difficulties encountered during construction.