The long-awaited launch of the world's largest thermonuclear reactor has been postponed again for several years – this was announced by representatives of the organization responsible for the implementation of the International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) project.

As experts note, the preliminary schedule for the implementation of the project was developed back in 2016, but due to the global pandemic, the deadline had to be pushed to a later period. In addition, the cost of ITER has quadrupled compared to the initial estimate and currently exceeds the $28 billion mark.

According to the head of the project Pietro Barabashi, as early as 2020 it became clear that the project was not destined to be launched in the previously planned time frame, and its start in 2025 is unattainable, therefore the program was revised in such a way as to give priority to scientific research activities and to reduce operational risks and to better prepare the device for the main stage using deuterium-tritium.

According to the updated plans for the commissioning of ITER, the launch dates for full magnetic power have been postponed by three years, namely from 2033 for 2036, while the start of deuterium-tritium operations is postponed for four years – from 2035 to 2039.

In addition, Pietro Barabashi reported that the material converted to plasma in ITER will not be made of beryllium, as previously assumed, but of more promising tungsten.

The project of the International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor of the tokamak type, supported by a number of world states, in particular Kazakhstan, China, India, the EU and the USA, which provides for the verification of the commercial use of thermonuclear energy, is a real long-term construction, and its scale is very large, but the construction continues. albeit at a rather slow pace, so in ten or two years we can expect at least some positive results from this program, which can open a new page in the field of energy generation.