US reaffirms support for ITER fusion project amid budget cut concerns

The United States remains committed to the ITER project, the world’s largest international nuclear fusion initiative, despite concerns over proposed budget cuts by the incoming US administration, ITER Director General Pietro Barabaschi said.

Barabaschi expressed confidence that the US will maintain its engagement in the multibillion-euro scientific collaboration aimed at developing a clean and virtually limitless source of energy, Caliber.Az reports citing Russian media.

“During Donald Trump's first term, the ITER project received sustained and strong support. I hope it will continue to do so,” Barabaschi stated.  

His remarks come amid growing uncertainty over Washington’s fiscal priorities, as the new administration signals a significant tightening of federal spending across multiple sectors. However, Barabaschi stressed that ITER has historically enjoyed bipartisan support in the US, reflecting its strategic importance to global energy innovation.

The ITER Project Associate (IPA) scheme enables Home Institutes from ITER Member countries to second qualified personnel to the ITER Organization, contributing to both technical and support functions. This initiative fosters enhanced international cooperation and operational integration between the ITER Organization and its Domestic Agencies.

Eligibility is extended to Home Institutes that have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), or a Cooperation Agreement with the ITER Organization, outlining mutual areas of interest. Under the IPA scheme, designated personnel engage in ITER-related activities for a specified duration, as determined by an Implementing Agreement signed between the Home Institute and the ITER Organization.

The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project, located in southern France, involves 35 nations—including the US, EU member states, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and India—and is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy at a commercial scale.

The experimental campaign that will be carried out at ITER is crucial to advancing fusion science and preparing the way for the fusion power plants of tomorrow.

ITER is designed to yield in its plasma a ten-fold return on power (Q=10), or 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of input heating power. ITER will not convert the heating power it produces as electricity, but is paving the way for the next generation of fusion machines that will. That is because ITER will be the first fusion device to demonstrate many of the integrated technologies, materials, and physics regimes necessary for the next step, commercial production of fusion-based electricity.

Thousands of engineers and scientists have contributed to the design of ITER since the idea for an international joint experiment in fusion was first launched in 1985. The ITER members are now engaged in a collaboration to build and operate the ITER experimental device, and together bring fusion to the point where a demonstration fusion reactor can be designed.

By Vafa Guliyeva