GoKawiilNestled in the countryside of southern France is a sprawling industrial complex where scientists and engineers from around the world have converged to build the world's largest-ever fusion reactor: a doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber designed to contain temperatures 10 times hotter than the core of the Sun.
At an estimated cost of $22 billion, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is the world's biggest bet on fusion energy: a project so daunting in scale that longtime geopolitical rivals have pooled their resources to share in its potential risks and rewards.
ITER's central solenoid (left) is the largest magnet in the world. It will play a key role in starting and maintaining ITER's fusion reactions. Celso Bulgatti/CNET
As ITER's chief strategic advisor Laban Coblentz put it, "That China and Russia were going to collaborate with the US and Europe, and add in Korea, India, and Japan -- that's either genius or insane."
Controlled fusion reactions produce millions of times more energy than the burning of fossil fuels, and four times more energy than the reactions powering traditional nuclear power plants -- without the risk of meltdown, long-lasting radioactive waste and carbon emissions. All humans have to do is create the right conditions for it to happen, but that's far easier said than done.
Watch this: 10 Times Hotter Than the Sun: Inside World's Largest Fusion Reactor 09:03
Containing ITER's 150-million-degree Celsius plasma will require superconducting magnets kept just a few degrees above absolute zero. To make that possible, engineers must place one of the hottest environments ever created right next to one of the coldest, with only a thin heat shield separating the two.
Cracks in the piping of this heat shield were discovered in 2020, along with distortions caused by welding and disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a years-long delay in ITER's timeline and the need for an additional $5 billion to cover repair costs. At the same time, private fusion startups have been multiplying, with many hoping to beat ITER to major milestones.
Cracks in ITER's thermal shields were part of a series of setbacks that led to a years-long delay and a $5 billion increase in cost. ITER
Despite the pressure and criticisms generated by these overruns and delays, the people I met at ITER all spoke about the project like an open book. "This is a publicly funded project," said Javier Artola, a scientist working on modeling the behavior of ITER's plasma. "It is the knowledge of the world."
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