ITER project will take six years longer than expected

Science : This week, at a meeting of the governing council of the multibillion-dollar ITER fusion project, which is under construction in France, new estimates were presented that suggest the project will cost $13 billion and won’t begin operations until the late 2020s. That moves the go-live date at least six years later than previously projected, and about a decade later than initially projected. The council also asked that the seven international partners—China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US—all provide additional funding for the project. However, after the council meeting concluded today, the delegates said that they would all be conducting their own reviews of the new schedule and funding requests before any long-term decision is made. The council did approve the proposed construction schedule for the next two years.