The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a multi-national endeavor to build a system to experiment with nuclear fusion, has just completed the final component of its pulsed superconducting electromagnet system, the world’s largest and most powerful, in a landmark moment for fusion research.
ITER, which includes China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United States, is an international joint experiment in fusion aimed at building and operating – beginning in the 2030s – the ITER experimental device, where a demonstration fusion reactor can be designed.
Fusion is the natural process that heats the Sun and all other stars, in which a huge amount of energy is produced by the fusion of light atoms, such as those in hydrogen, into heavier elements like helium.
Nuclear fusion has long been considered the answer to zero-emission by-product-free energy generation. However, no one has cracked the nuclear fusion code yet because of the challenges associated with the environment in which the process could take place.
Now the final, sixth component of the ITER pulsed magnet system has been built and tested in the United States, ITER said on Thursday.
The final component was the sixth module of the Central Solenoid, which will be assembled at the ITER site in Southern France. When assembled, this Central Solenoid will be the system’s most powerful magnet, strong enough to lift an aircraft carrier.
The fully assembled pulsed magnet system will function as the electromagnetic heart of ITER’s donut-shaped reactor, called a Tokamak.
With most of the major components delivered, the ITER Tokamak is now in assembly phase. In April 2025, the first vacuum vessel sector module was inserted into the Tokamak Pit, about 3 weeks ahead of schedule, ITER said.
Nuclear fusion research and development have gained momentum in recent years after several momentous breakthroughs and achievements. The global race to overcome the engineering challenges to achieving zero-emission power from a nuclear reaction without risking disaster and radiation has heated up.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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