Nuclear fusion: at least eight years late and “billions” in additional costs for Iter

The international experimental nuclear fusion reactor Iter, which aims to revolutionize energy production, will suffer a delay of at least eight years and its bill will increase by "billions of euros", indicated Wednesday July 3 Pietro Barabaschi , its general director.

The date of first production of plasma, essential for fusion, initially planned for 2025, is postponed to at least 2033, and delays and repairs of defective parts will lead to additional costs, currently estimated at "five billion" d euros, he said during a press conference to present the new schedule for this project, based in Cadarache in the south-east of France.

The latter provides a deadline of 2036 for the production of “complete magnetic energy”, planned for 2033 in the initial calendar which dated from 2016.

During a board meeting at the end of June, the partner member countries - China, South Korea, United States, India, Japan, European Union and Russia - accepted the continuation of the project according to this new schedule, said the director .

The council must still decide on the request for additional funding, to the tune of “five billion euros”, he said.

This decision could come during a next council meeting scheduled for November.

“There is a delay but we believe we are doing what is right to achieve the objective with more attention to risks and minimizing the total delay for the project,” insisted Mr Barabaschi.