ITER
ITER is a tokamak fusion device run by ITER Organization (35 nations) in France. It is under construction. Like every fusion device built so far, it has produced no net electricity.
Under construction. By mid-2026 the six-module central solenoid stack was complete on site and five of the nine vacuum vessel sector modules were installed in the tokamak pit.
The largest scientific collaboration in history after the ISS, and the machine everything else is measured against. Its schedule was rebaselined in 2024: scientific operations now start in 2034, full magnetic energy in 2036, and deuterium-tritium operation in 2039, against an original plan for first plasma in 2025. The delays are attributed to the pandemic, quality problems, and optimistic planning for a first-of-a-kind machine. ITER will not generate any electricity. It is designed to show that a burning plasma can be sustained, not to sell power.
| Organisation | ITER Organization (35 nations) |
|---|---|
| Approach | tokamak |
| Confinement | magnetic |
| Country | France |
| Status | Under construction |
| First plasma | not yet |
| Target date | 2034 |
|---|---|
| Power target | 500MW |
| Energy gain target | Q = 10 (500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of heating) |
| Net electricity | No. no fusion device has produced any |
Other tokamak projects
Fusion needs tritium, and the world's civilian stock comes mostly from CANDU fission reactors. See the fusion overview.
ITER in context
14 of the 24 fusion projects on record use the tokamak approach: 7 operating, 3 under construction, 3 planned and 1 closed.
It lists a target date of 2034, 8 years from now; of the 7 projects that list one, 4 list an earlier year. A target date is the project's own aim, not a forecast.
Its stated fusion power target is 500 MW, 1st of the 6 projects that state one (median 300 MW).
| Measure | ITER | Median of all projects | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target date | 2034 | 2028 | 5 of 7 (earliest first) |
| Fusion power target (MW) | 500 | 300 | 1 of 6 |
Worked out from the entries on this site only, so a figure compares ITER with what is recorded here, not with everything that exists. An entry with no value for a measure is left out of that measure's ranking and median.
Sources
- ITER Organization 2024 baseline · retrieved 2026-09-07
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data