ST PAUL-LEZ-DURANCE, France – The Members of the ITER project which is currently under construction in Cadarache, France gathered on 15 and 16 November 2017 at the 21st ITER Council Meeting to evaluate the outputs of new project performance metrics as well as the report of the 2017 Management Assessment.
At the meeting of the Council, Russia was represented by Igor Borovkov, head of the delegation, Vyacheslav Pershukov, Sergei Mazurenko, Victor Ilgisonis, members of the ITER Council and by the management of the Institution “Project Center ITER” - the Russian Agency for ITER.
The Council confirmed that the ITER Project remains on track for success, despite the Project’s extraordinary technical complexity. ITER Council Members jointly reaffirmed the importance of the mission and vision of the Project.
In the framework of the meeting, the ITER Council reviewed a detailed set of reports and indicators covering both organizational and technical performance. Despite the extremely demanding construction and manufacturing schedule, and the challenging technical requirements of the ITER Tokamak and support systems, the ITER Project continues its strong performance, and remains on schedule for First Plasma 2025. The ITER Council commemorated the 10th anniversary of the entering into force of the ITER Agreement.
According to Anatoly Krasilnikov, director of the Institution “Project Center ITER”, “the Council meeting , as always, was held in an atmosphere of constructive, candid discussion. We’ve discussed the progress of the project, immediate plans, and current tasks. At the moment, we do not see any insurmountable difficulties in the implementation of the project - everything is in accordance with the schedule, in accordance with our common vision. The ITER Organization itself was established 10 years ago, we’ve talked about that today. For the past 10 years, a lot of work has been done; the main task of the partners today is to ensure the achievement of the first plasma in 2025".
After the meeting, Vyacheslav Pershukov, the Special Representative of ROSATOM for International, Science and Technology Projects, announced that “ITER continues to demonstrate a high rate of implementation, which indicates the effectiveness of the chosen approach to its management. In addition, it is the result of close and fruitful cooperation of all its participants who entirely fulfill their obligations in the project”.
For the reference:
ITER—designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power—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. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant and environmentally responsible energy source. ITER is also a first-of-a-kind global collaboration. Europe is contributing almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six Members to this joint international venture (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA), are contributing equally to the rest. The ITER Project is under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, in the south of France.
