The ITER Project

ITER is a joint international research and development project that aims to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. The partners in the project - the ITER Parties - are the European Union (represented by EURATOM), Japan, the People´s Republic of China, India, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA. ITER will be constructed in Europe, at Cadarache in the South of France.

In January 2003, President Bush announced that the United States would join the multilateral negotiations for the construction and operation of ITER, and last summer our Congress indicated in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 their support for this endeavor and the process by which the United States Government may formally accept the text of the ITER agreement. Finally, in his State of the Union Address to the American people this year, President Bush reaffirmed his support for basic research and highlighted his belief that research in methods of harnessing clean energy has a leading role in global energy security.

On May 24th, ministers representing the People's Republic of China, Euratom, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America met in the European Commission’s Berlaymont Building in Brussels to initial the agreement that they have negotiated on the joint implementation of ITER construction, operation, and decommissioning.

This opens the way to its signature by the governments concerned, expected to take place before the end of 2006, followed where needed by its ratification.