ITER will be the world's largest experimental fusion facility. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars: when light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. ITER construction has been underway in Saint Paul-lez-Durance, south of France, since 2010.
On 6 September, the ministerial-level representatives of member states visited the ITER construction site and commended ITER on progress to date. It was the second time in the project’s history that ministerial representatives of the seven ITER Members (China, European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA) had met.
As work progresses on the ITER site, the high-tech components of the tokamak fusion reactor are being manufactured by industries in the ITER Member countries. Most of the contracts have now been signed with leading industrial players; components have already begun to arrive at the ITER site and the first large components are expected on site in June 2014.
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