Atomic energy bodies come together over shared objectives

The Iter fusion energy project based in France and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which promotes peaceful use of nuclear technology, have agreed to work together on areas including radiation safety and plasma physics.

The move will help to promote the delivery of carbon-free, industrial-scale fusion power, Iter and the IAEA said in a statement on 19 June after top officials from the two organisations signed a cooperation agreement.

Iter is a collaboration among 35 countries to build the world’s largest tokamak fusion device in Cadarache, France. China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States are spending billions of euros on the project, which is intended to achieve the milestone of first plasma by 2025 and reach full operation by 2035.