World’s Biggest Fusion-Energy Project Searches for Lost Memory
- ITER looking to re-hire retired engineers to recover knowledge
- Unfinished reactor in France faces further delays and costs
The international nuclear fusion project in Saint-Paul-les-Durance, southern France.
Photographer: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
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The executive in charge of the world’s biggest fusion-energy experiment is trying to rehire retired engineers, who possess knowledge that’s critical to advancing an unfinished reactor in southern France.
The 35-nation International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, is seeking to reboot the fusion project after its supply chains were disrupted by war and pandemic. Delays mean ITER’s efforts to harness the mechanics of the Sun’s clean energy on Earth could be overtaken by more nimble startups.