A much-delayed nuclear fusion project involving more than 30 countries is ready to assemble the world's most powerful magnet - a key part of efforts to generate clean energy by smashing atoms together at super-high temperatures.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, based in southern France and backed by the United States, China, Japan, Russia and the European Union, needs the magnetic system to create an "invisible cage" to confine super-hot plasma particles that combine and fuse to release energy.
ITER said late on Wednesday that the final component of the system - the central solenoid - had been completed and tested by the United States, and assembly was now underway.
"It is like the bottle in a bottle of wine: of course the wine is maybe more important than the bottle, but you need the bottle in order to put the wine inside," said Pietro Barabaschi, ITER's director general.
The magnet was originally scheduled for completion in 2021, but has been beset by delays.
"To be behind schedule by four years after 10 years of effort shows just how troubled this project is," said Charles Seife, a professor at New York University who writes about nuclear fusion.
Barabaschi said the "crisis" was now over and construction was proceeding at the fastest pace in ITER's history. The start-up phase of the project will begin in 2033, when it is scheduled to start generating plasma.
He said ITER proved that countries could still cooperate despite geopolitical tensions.
"They have a very, very strong cohesion of objectives and for the time being I see no sign of a withdrawal from anyone."
Fusion investment has been growing, with dozens of initiatives currently underway. Several private start-ups have said they can build commercial fusion reactors within a decade.
Barabaschi said he was sceptical but supportive of the dozens of ventures in development across the world.
"We already know that we can get fusion," he said. "The question is, are we going to get fusion in such a way that it would be cost-effective?
"I am quite sceptical that we will be able to achieve this within, say, one or even two decades. Frankly speaking, it will take more time."
The Aegean region has become a key driver in Türkiye’s clean energy transition, supplying nearly 30 percent of the country’s wind power capacity and supporting millions of homes annually.
Azerbaijan’s AERA and Moldova’s ANRE signed a memorandum to strengthen cooperation in energy regulation and regional resilience.
The World Bank has approved a $100 million concessional loan to Uzbekistan to help integrate renewable energy into power grids and enhance electricity reliability in key regions. The national grid operator will contribute an additional $50 million to the five-year program.
A high-level Afghan delegation led by Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat CEO Dr. Abdul Bari Omar arrived in Tajikistan to take part in a key meeting on the CASA 1000 energy project, joining regional and international partners to accelerate progress on the major cross-border power initiative.
Slovakia and Hungary have condemned the European Commission’s new proposal to phase out Russian energy imports by 2027, warning the move would harm EU competitiveness.
Iran and the United States ended their fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome with some progress but no resolution, according to the mediator from Oman.
Despite warnings from FEMA that offering aid to migrants might violate smuggling laws, shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to receive individuals released by ICE, creating confusion and concern among nonprofits.
Russia is preparing to present Ukraine with a draft peace proposal once a recent prisoner swap concludes, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Friday, signaling a potential step forward in peace efforts.
Boeing has struck a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid criminal charges over the 737 Max tragedies, agreeing to pay over $1.1 billion in penalties, victim support, and safety reforms.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the arrest of those responsible for the failed launch of the country’s second naval destroyer, calling the incident an “unpardonable criminal act” and demanding accountability amid skepticism over the extent of damage to the warship.
Tensions flare in the India-France Rafale deal as France refuses to share the fighter jet’s source code, limiting India’s ability to integrate indigenous weapons and reducing its combat autonomy.
France has rejected India’s request to share source codes needed to integrate indigenous weapons into Rafale fighter jets. Despite repeated appeals, French manufacturer Dassault Aviation has refused to compromise on the issue
Anton Kobyakov, adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum that the USSR’s dissolution was legally invalid and that the Soviet Union still exists under constitutional law, framing the Ukraine war as an “internal process.”
In a region long defined by conflict and complex history, AnewZ set out to hear the voices that matter most- those of the people.
Two staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.- Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot and killed on Wednesday night by a lone gunman as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, close to the White House.
A delegation led by Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chief Negotiator of COP29, participated in Climate Week in Panama, held from May 19–21, 2025, in Panama City.
Even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C — the goal set by nearly 200 countries — rising seas will still pose a major threat to coastal communities for centuries, scientists say.
Colombia lost nearly 88,900 hectares of forest — an area larger than New York City — in just six months, according to a new report from the country’s public watchdog.
At least 10 people have died and another 10 remain missing following a flash flood and landslide in Indonesia’s West Papua province.
The U.S. faces a dangerous mix of rising tornadoes and fewer meteorologists, straining weather warning systems. Tornado counts are 35% above average this year, testing an understaffed National Weather Service amid growing climate-driven severe weather.
Iran and the United States ended their fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome with some progress but no resolution, according to the mediator from Oman.
Despite warnings from FEMA that offering aid to migrants might violate smuggling laws, shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to receive individuals released by ICE, creating confusion and concern among nonprofits.
Russia is preparing to present Ukraine with a draft peace proposal once a recent prisoner swap concludes, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Friday, signaling a potential step forward in peace efforts.
Boeing has struck a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid criminal charges over the 737 Max tragedies, agreeing to pay over $1.1 billion in penalties, victim support, and safety reforms.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the arrest of those responsible for the failed launch of the country’s second naval destroyer, calling the incident an “unpardonable criminal act” and demanding accountability amid skepticism over the extent of damage to the warship.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment