France launches assembly of international nuclear fusion reactor ITER

One of the critical events in the construction of the first-ever International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will take place on Tuesday in the commune of Saint-Paul-Les-Durance in France, where the assembly of the reactor will begin, the ITER project's press service said.

The ITER demonstration reactor is being built next to the Cadarache research center in southern France by the European Union, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

This will be the first large-scale attempt to demonstrate the feasibility of using thermonuclear reactions to generate energy on an industrial scale.

Should the ITER project be successful, humankind will be able to count on the possession of an almost inexhaustible energy source. The launch of the reactor and the production of the first plasma on it are expected to take place in 2025.

A total of 35 countries take part in the ITER project. As the host country of the ITER reactor, United Europe contributes 45 percent of the cost of the installation construction, while the other countries, including Russia, 9 percent each.