Cadarache in the context of Saint-Paul-lès-Durance

ITER (originally an acronym for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, and also meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering project designed to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion power. The facility is under construction near the Cadarache research center in southern France. ITER has been under construction since 2013. It is expected to achieve first plasma in 2033–2034, at which point it will be the world's largest fusion reactor, with a plasma volume about six times that of Japan's JT-60SA, previously the largest tokamak.

The long-term goal of fusion research is to generate electricity; ITER's stated purpose is scientific research, and technological demonstration of a large fusion reactor, without electricity generation. ITER's goals are to achieve enough fusion to produce 10 times as much thermal output power as thermal power absorbed by the plasma for short time periods; to demonstrate and test technologies that would be needed to operate a fusion power plant including cryogenics, heating, control and diagnostics systems, and remote maintenance; to achieve and learn from a burning plasma; to test tritium breeding; and to demonstrate the safety of a fusion plant.