- Start
- Dec 31, 203440% CONFIDENCELow confidencefrom the source
ITER Fusion Reactor Delayed to 2034
- ITER, a tokamak under construction at Cadarache, France, by 35 nations, aims for 500 MW for at least 400 seconds from 50 MW of heating, without generating electricity[2][3]
- The 2016 baseline had first plasma in 2025, full plasma current in 2032 and deuterium-tritium operation in 2035[2][3]
- In July 2024 a new baseline set start of operation in 2034 with a deuterium-only plasma, full plasma current in 2036 and D-T operation from 2039, costing an extra EUR 5 billion[2]
- This is the newer plan; in July 2022 ITER only said 2025 would need to be delayed, with a new schedule expected by April 2023[2][3]
- Causes cited include COVID-19 supply-chain and quality-control delays, cracks in thermal-shield cooling pipes and a halt to assembly by the French nuclear regulator in early 2022[2][3]
- Director-general Pietro Barabaschi said since 2020 it was "clear" 2025 was unachievable; the first wall changes from beryllium to tungsten and all 19 toroidal-field coils are delivered[2]
References 343% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]40%youtube.com/watch?v=-2CnCrz38F4youtube.com· Posted Sep 22, 2026· Starts Dec 31, 2034 ✓· 92% of score
Date has moved, per the source: ITER "will start scientific operation in 2034," after the original plan "envisaged first plasma as early as 2025."
- [2]82%ITER fusion reactor hit by massive decade-long delay and €5bn price hike – Physics Worldphysicsworld.com· Published Jul 3, 2024· 4% of score
Physics World confirms ITER's first operations were pushed to 2034 - a "massive decade-long delay" - after the original plan "envisaged first plasma as early as 2025," directly matching the pin's stored date and title.
- [3]85%ITER fusion project preparing to outline revised timetable – World Nuclear Newsworld-nuclear-news.org· Published Jun 1, 2024· 4% of score
World Nuclear News' coverage of ITER's schedule review confirms the original 2025 first-plasma target was abandoned due to COVID-19 disruption, though this particular article discusses the review process itself rather than stating the pin's specific 2034 date, which the companion Physics World[2] reference (940) confirms directly.
Suggest a correction
Something missing or wrong? Say it in your own words: a link that backs this pin up, a different start or end date and why, or a fact it lacks or gets wrong. The AI checks it against this pin's sources, searches for better ones, and adds any page that backs you up. The pin's own sources still count most.
EDF