ITER has two major scientific missions:
→ To achieve a Q factor of 10, i.e. a fusion energy output 10 times greater than the power injected into the plasma. The targets set for ITER operation are to generate 500 MW of energy with an input of 50 MW (compare this with the results obtained at JET: 16.5 MW obtained for approximately 25 MW injected).
→ To understand and control the operating parameters of a fusion reactor in a steady state or even close to ignition (self-maintenance of the plasma temperature). In both cases, the aim is to produce and control plasmas in which the fusion reaction makes a significant contribution to maintaining the process, prefiguring the operation of an industrial-scale reactor.
ITER is scheduled to operate for twenty years.
These objectives make ITER an essential validation stage before the design of the industrial prototype reactor, known today as DEMO (Demonstration power plant). Ultimately, ITER should make it possible to determine the technical and scientific feasibility of the process, i.e. to establish whether or not nuclear fusion by magnetic confinement is a process that can lead to a nuclear reactor.
Learn more on the ITER website : https://www.iter.org/fr/sci/Goals
