Foreword from the Director-General

Ithank you for taking the time to read the 2019 ITER Organization Financial Report, prepared with care by our Finance & Budget Division. In the assessment of the Financial Audit Board, the accounts and balance sheet represent a true and fair view of the financial positions of the ITER Organization.

Project execution from early design to First Plasma is now at nearly 70 percent. The ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies continue to implement the Revised Construction Strategy with increasing challenges on maintaining First Plasma in 2025 due to announced delays in some critical deliveries. Delay against a critical need date means that other opportunities must be exploited to maintain the schedule; with this objective, all project actors are pursuing opportunities for risk mitigation and schedule recovery.

With the achievement by the European Domestic Agency of a major building milestone in March 2020 – crane access between the Assembly Hall and the newly completed Tokamak Building – the critical path to First Plasma now passes through the sub-assembly of the vacuum vessel sectors, equipped with toroidal field coils, and then their in-pit welding. The European Domestic Agency and the ITER Organization are collaborating on an acceleration program for the production and assembly of vacuum vessel sectors under European responsibility. Both organizations are also working closely with the Korean Domestic Agency to benefit from lessons learned in the production of the first vacuum vessel sector, S#6, which was finalized in May 2020. Major steps were taken during the reporting period to prepare for the assembly and installation phase at ITER: an institutional reorganization was deployed to accompany the transition in the project’s focus; major assembly and installation contracts were awarded for the Tokamak machine; large handling tools in the Assembly Hall were commissioned; and ITER’s first plant system – electrical distribution – entered operation. These individual steps all contributed to the first major milestone of machine assembly – the successful installation of the cryostat base in May 2020.

In the context of the recent COVID-19 crisis, I made the decision to preserve full continuity for critical activities on the ITER site, while taking all necessary health precautions as advised by authorities. Key assembly works were able to continue and critical deliveries were maintained. I thank all ITER staff and contractors for their collective commitment and for the considerable personal efforts that have allowed us, even in these difficult times, to achieve important milestones and keep our project remarkably on track overall.

Preliminary information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the Revised Construction Strategy was provided to the ITER Council at its Twenty-Sixth Meeting (June 2020). I say “preliminary” because at this writing the virus has not stopped circulating; also, every effort is being made across the project to recover the impact of work stoppages and shutdowns. The ITER Organization will present its assessment of COVID-19 impact to the Members in September 2020 and a report for further discussion at the ITER Council in November 2020.

As we plan for the very challenging and exciting years ahead, I would like to thank the ITER Members for renewing their confidence in me. I have accepted a second term as the Director-General of the ITER Organization knowing that each one of us – stakeholder, manager, employee, contractor, or supplier – plays an important role in the success of the ITER Project. It is only together that we can succeed.

Bernard Bigot

St. Paul-lez-Durance July 2020